Now Here’s The Biggie… Honesty, What Do You Believe It To Be For You?
Maybe when we first think of the word honesty, we think of staying true, not telling lies, integrity or maybe you have your own take on honesty. You see that is part of the problem… we all have our own interpretations of honesty.
Yeah, sure we all understand right and wrong and we all understand honesty and lying on a very simple level. On the purest and simplest level, honesty is not lying, cheating or stealing!
The Question Is Do We Really Do Our Best To Live Up To The Simplicity Of Honesty?
However let’s look at a specific scenario that complicates the simplistic view of honesty:
You are talking to a work colleague and the conversation gets round to one of the other people you work with and how they haven’t been pulling their weight in the work stakes over the past few weeks. Just at that moment the other person walks in and says “are you two talking about me?”
What Do You Do?
Be truthful and say yes, or lie and make up something on the spot?
In this scenario it’s not that simple because we have others peoples’ feelings and emotions to deal with. This is where the simple word honesty, becomes complex. Whatever you answered will be based on your past experiences of honesty.
An important aspect about honesty is where is it coming from? Because being honest is a moral dilemma, start with the other person in mind. Make them the centre of your decision making process, not you!
Think About The Consequences Of Your Honesty
…on others and only then the consequences on you. Normally the consequences on others are greater.
When we are honest with ourselves over the real reasons for our actions and behaviours, then we can be completely satisfied that we have made the best decisions for everyone concerned.
One of the easiest ways of working out what works best for you is to just stop and think, see or feel, the times that we judge what we deem dishonesty and check that we know all the facts and understand all points of view, checking in on where our own feelings are coming from.
At this point we can truly and honestly have our own thoughts and opinions on the situations or behaviours, however others may agree with us or disagree; that will all depend on their own life experiences!
