You might have often heard this precept, “HONESTY is expensive. Don’t expect it from cheap people.” Very well said! But how many people actually value that? No one. Being honest can mean being upfront. At times, it’s all about telling the other person what you exactly feel, or what you expect from them.

Talking from experience…

Over the years, many people I have come across have admitted that they haven’t seen people embracing honesty as nectar. It’s perceived more as a punishment or a compulsion. People hesitate to be honest and no doubt there are reasons for that.

Many times, as we grow up, we have learned that honesty can punish us. We have also known that; honesty is inexpensive or mostly least preferred. Many a time, we have seen being misinterpreted as a weakness.

Whatever may be the reason, I have seen people being afraid of honest people around them. I am not generalizing the statement, but this is what I have observed. I feel there is a considerable gap between the demand and the supply of HONESTY. The demand is obviously more, but the supply is less like marginal utility theory, or something, that I studied in Microeconomics. Just joking, but it is true, or at least from my experience!

It all starts as a kid!

Have you seen children below six years of age? If we start from the age of 2 years until the age of 70 years. There is the observation that in our childhood, we are comparatively more honest because we are yet to know the side-effects. However, we are also intelligent enough to understand in our youth, how not to be honest, and why not to be honest.

An anecdote

It’s like we teach our younger generations whether or not, to be honest. For example, when a two-year-old child falls while playing, and cries. Parents rush to them and calm them down with a lot of pampering. When the same kid falls at the age of 4, their parents still run to them, scold a little, and then calm them down. Now, at the age of 8, parents might slap the kid in the same situation, admonish, and gave medicines to apply on their own. At the age of 16, the same kid did not tell the parents at all, because they knew it would be worst then the last time. And, this is how kids learn to be dishonest with their parents.

No one teaches their children to be dishonest because they want their child to be honest with them, no matter whether they are or not. It’s plain vanilla hypocrisy!

This is in every walk of life, and that’s how people learn to hesitate even when they want to be honest. This is because, somewhere, their honesty was not appreciated.

It has been observed that, sometimes, the same person is honest with one person and dishonest with the other. Maybe about the same thing. They might have experienced that honesty didn’t work with someone. In return, they were never honest with them ever. Still, they received honesty, from somewhere they had never expected.

Be Honest for yourself

Its said that Telling the truth when tempted to lie can significantly improve a person’s mental and physical health, according to a “Science of Honesty” study.

Honesty in speech and action gain not only attention but respect as well. They become the ones that you not only want to influence but be influenced by. They help us to define our outlook on life, as well as lift us to places we couldn’t have arrived at entirely by our own efforts.

Being Politically Correct          

The best thing about being honest or true to oneself and others is that it is effort less. I agree sometimes that “too much honesty might be seen as undisciplined openness”.and many times you are asked to be politically correct when you honestly express the negative opinions of others, either without having been asked your opinion, or having been asked in a circumstance where the response would be trivial. And because of this reason many times you may refrain from expressing your true opinions due to a general societal condemnation of such views.

It is Effort Less

The best thing about being honest or true to oneself and others is that it is effort less. You don’t have to remember what you said last to the particular person. It is said that ‘The facts cannot be changed ’ but if you lied then obviously you have to remember what you said last. I guess that is too heavy for us seeing our Busy life in today’s time.

Lets start today, first, by being as honest with yourself . Be honest about your thoughts, words, actions and wants. Then think about your interaction with society and your personal relationships. Are we afraid to be yourself. If not, what are you afraid of? write us at  contact@aarthalife.in  in the comments section below.