Honesty - Is It The Best Policy?
Most likely you’ve heard that “honesty is the best policy.” But is it really? It really depends on the situation, but I believe in most situations that honesty is in fact the best policy. In this article, I will talk about why I think this is so.
What To Do if Someone is Bothering You
Let’s say that someone is doing something that bothers you. This person may not even be aware that they are doing anything that bothers you. In this case, would you rather be nice and allow them to continue doing it? Or would you rather be honest and not have that annoying thing continue?
I don’t know about you, but I would much rather choose the latter! There is a way to deal with the annoying things that people do. It must be approached in a nice and respectful manner, as you don’t want to hurt the feelings of the person who is causing the annoyance.
A Prime Example
Here is a most recent example for me. There was someone at my work, who also happens to be a good friend, who was constantly doing re-enactments of things he thought was funny. He is the type of person that continues to go on and on mentioning the same thing, and as you can imagine, it was starting to get annoying really fast!
I ended up talking to him and just told him that this thing he was doing was really starting to become annoying, and politely asked him to stop. He was not even aware that what he was doing was annoying, so he respected my wishes and stopped. Not only this, his behavior was really starting to annoy other co-workers. I had to talk about this with him as well because I did not want him to get in trouble with management.
Be Understanding, Be Kind
Some people are not even aware of the annoying things they do, so we can’t be quick to jump on them and attack them. If someone is doing something to annoy us or intentionally hurt us, we can’t go on living like it’s okay either and pretending.
If someone is doing something to you that is annoying or hurtful, be honest about it. If they are a good friend, they will be respectful of it and not do it anymore. We all make mistakes and we’re all growing. Be respectful of other people, and other people will be respectful of you.
I once lost a friend, because I was honest and wanted to help her. She didn't appreciate it.
I keep quiet if I know my honesty will hurt people. Unless they ask and want my honest opinion.
I've only lied once when asked. My sister knew I hated cake cream made out of powder. So when she served me cake that contained cream that clearly (to me) was made out of powder, and she asked me if I liked it, I lied and said "yes".
She made a fool of me for years for not being able to taste the difference. I never told her that I lied to her.