The Significance of Honesty and Personal Integrity

The Significance of Honesty and Personal Integrity

When it comes to winning over the respect of people, honesty plays a major role in our success. Yes, our parents apparently hit the bull’s eye when they said that honesty is the best policy. However, many people mistake candor with tactlessness. Admittedly, there is sometimes a fine line between these two concepts. There are just some situations and people that we can’t agree with, and sometimes, we’re put on the spot when somebody asks for our opinion. Our friends may not mind our being frank because they simply know us better. Unfortunately, there are also people who just won’t be able to understand us. And why should they? Words can really be offensive when used out of context. It is actually up to us to decide how we are able to handle every situation with diplomacy.

It is then important that honesty should come with integrity. When we can’t say anything nice, then we might as well not say anything. To be rightfully honest is to also know how to be aware of the feelings of people. Empathy and a high emotional quotient play a big part here. We, ourselves, do not enjoy getting attacked by people we don’t really know. We have to differentiate right from wrong and know when it is most important to truly tell a person how we feel. Once we get into this sometimes too personal a zone, we have to leave all excess emotional baggage in the backseat for the simple reason that we should have an objective mindset when we talk to people.

The people around us react better to constructive criticism if they have enough sense to realize that we are only there with their best interests at heart, they are more likely open to listening to what we have to say. We also need to take a closer look at ourselves and know if we are the right person to do the job. This is the behavior of a person with a realistic image of himself or herself. We too are not perfect, but we also have to realize whether or not we are in the position to help.

Another question to ask is if our opinions are clouded by the beliefs of other people. If so, then maybe it is best that we walk away. Images are created by people, and they are not universally alike. We unconsciously create them from our experiences. Being honest with how we truly feel provides the means to see the symptoms of our own nature. We start to gain understanding when we also look deep into our very soul.

The principle behind telling the truth is making it possible to get what is an unprejudiced view of the situation. Once we know what our true intentions are and if they are pure, only then can we say that we can be honest. Let us then think with our brains and let our hearts show us the way to a clean and unsullied conscience.

In gist, if we want to become more honest people, we first must look into ourselves, know if it is the right thing to do, and try to handle every situation cautiously. The central concept of honesty is not to hurt other people. In fact, its main purpose is to find ways by which we can help others become the best that they can be.