Most of us use lies from time to time to avoid difficult situations and hide our feelings or intentions. However lying always comes with a price whilst the truth is invaluable. Here are a few reasons why you should always be honest:
- The truth will always come out, so by lying you are only ’buying time’ but it will probably be worse when it’s revealed that you lied as well.
- You will feel better about yourself if you are honest and open.
- Others will be able to trust you and trust is the basis for all relationships.
- Others will seek your honest advice and opinion.
- You won’t have to remember and maintain a web of lies. Lies usually lead to more lies to cover up the initial lies, creating a vicious cycle.
- Lying is an easy way out, by being honest you learn to tackle difficult or uncomfortable situations and grow as a person.
Since we’ve established that it is better to be honest here are a few tips on how to avoid the temptation of lying:
- Bit the bullet: honesty is more difficult, otherwise we wouldn’t resort to lying! Gather up your courage and step forward with the truth — others will appreciate it.
- Brace yourself: go ahead with the truth, without overthinking all the possible negative outcomes.
- Have faith in other people: we usually assume that they won’t understand and accept the truth.
- Put yourself in the other person’s position: would you prefer to be lied to?
- Prepare your words and yourself: being honest doesn’t mean being rude or blunt. Think about what and how you will say things. You still need to be diplomatic and kind in order to avoid hurting the other person’s feelings.
- Convince yourself that it’s better to be honest: if you don’t believe it then you will resort to a lie as soon as the situation starts to take a negative turn.
- See it as an opportunity to develop: being open and honest communication are valuable soft skills for your personal and professional life. So each situation where you can practice makes you better at it!
