In All Honesty, How Honest Are You???

Question

Think carefully. And be honest.

=)

hott_tamale....I appreciate the honesty.

Bollocks....I have no way of knowing. I do appreciate the answer.

Ana...you have my deepest respect.

Martino....I appreciate your honesty.

Answer 1

Brutally. But you already know this, lol. I do have more respect for people when they are completely forthcoming with me as well, even if it hurts. At least one knows where they stand.

Answer 2

For the most part, I believe all of us are honest with each other unless...

1) You know your answer will hurt the other.

2) The honest answer will damage your personal image of yourself.

About 7 years ago, I decided to be honest at all times. What resulted was very interesting. I had no trouble being honest about the big things. What I had trouble with were the smaller things. The "devil in the details" kind of stuff. So if I knew that an honest answer would hurt the person asking, I would ask them, "Are you sure you want my honest opinion?" If the answer was, "yes," then I would say, "That's fine with me but you must promise to take responsibility for your reaction. If you are not willing to do that, I will not give you an answer." More often than not, the person would end up asking me not to give them my honest answer. Human nature? Self protection? I found all of this really interesting.

When it came to issues where I would look very bad or incredibly stupid, wow. That was the most difficult. I still have trouble to this day being honest in situations like these. It's much easier to lie when it comes to self image. But I try. Sometimes I'm successful. At other times I'm a miserable failure.

Answer 3

I am not honest at all. I don't make much of an effort to be. When I was a kid, I found out a dangerous secret I wasn't equipped to bear. It is this: There are people who will wail the tar out of you for telling the truth. You have no choice, unless you're into pain, but to lie to them.

I have lived by this. Being good to myself, I guess I'd call it. --Though I realize the dishonesty and cowardly blame-passing implicit in that formulation.

I tell people what they want to hear as much as possible. I don't lie, generally, unless I am 99% certain I will be believed, or 99% certain that I cannot be refuted or called out on a point.

The only redeeming aspect of this, if you really turn the cloud inside out looking for the silver lining, is that I am not in any position for my lies to hurt anyone. And I don't do it to coerce or swindle anyone into doing anything. I just do it as self-protection.

The best analogy I can think up for my attitude toward lying is one of two things: 1) It's like when someone has been talking for two or three minutes, you haven't been listening, and have missed everything they said, and they end their comments with "Don't you agree?" --Well, you NEVER say "what?" You just say "Oh yes, I definitely think that's true" and pray to God that they don't ask you about some tiny detail in their ramble. or 2) When someone you barely know, maybe a little old grandma at the store, says something you think is totally wrong, so wrong it may even incense you, but you decide to just smile sweetly and nod, maybe utter a quiet 'yeah', instead of calling them out on it. It's cowardly, a not-make-waves junkie's first recourse. That's me.

Not being honest is my path of least resistance through life. I don't feel great about being dishonest.

Answer 4

Honesty has always been extremely important to me. When I was younger, I refused even to say "She's not here" when someone called for my sister that she didn't want to talk to. A white lie was still a lie, I believed. But I've softened my stance regarding minor social lies over the years. I don't believe the telephone should rule our lives. I still consider honesty of extreme importance; I'm just not so anal about it. I still consider my job a sacred trust. I take handling money that isn't mine very seriously. I take handling other people's personal information as a sacred trust. I would want someone else to guard my personal info, so, by the Golden Rule, I make every effort to do my part to protect theirs. I try never to make a promise I can't keep, and, since I would want others to be honest with me, I try to give honest (tactful, but honest) responses when my friends and family ask my opinion--even about such things most people feel comfortable lying about, like "Do you like my new hairstyle?" or "Does this make me look fat?" I feel like I owe them an honest answer.

All in all, I'd have to say that I'm honest. I've never told a lie that has really harmed anyone.

Great question. I hope that was a fair answer.

Answer 5

Hmm. I think it's important to say that I believe there is a difference between honesty and truth. Truth is about facts, or unbiased reality. I don't know if we are always capable of completely knowing or telling the truth.

Honesty is about intention. Motivation. And that can be problematic, too. I can only be honest with others in relation to how honest I am with my self. Internal deception (defense mechanisms) may prevent total honesty. I can only be honest about what is safe for me to know, in other words.

I strive to be honest, and I think I am. I do struggle with whether withholding my honest opinion is appropriate or not.

Some will say that if you don't tell your best friend that her hat is hideous, that's dishonest. But it may be humble to withhold that information. After all, who made me an expert on hats?

I usually don't like to say things in the negative, but I think I try to avoid deception (internal and external). I may avoid giving an answer to something where my honesty may be hurtful or counter-productive. But I don't try to mislead or deceive.

I was raised in a home where the difference between truth and honesty was not accepted. I think I fear criticism of my honesty because it may counter what someone else believes to be true.

Answer 6

I easily have lied on significant issues. i'm attempting to be extra desirable now. fact won't win any recognition contests. I watch the everyday Pharaces and Saducees attempting to be president real now. they're attempting to extra healthful the words of the Bible into their mouths and not have it sound like the twisted blasphemy it quite is. it quite is somewhat humorous. yet, i understand I easily have achieved a similar component in the previous. i desire God and Jesus are quite forgiving and function a humorousness. Wait till this 3 hundred and sixty 5 days's marketing campaign get warm.

Answer 7

I'm 100% honest with my friends here in YA and most other people too. But, there are some people I have to put on a front for, and pour sugar all over every issue for. It disgusts me to have to be that way. But sometimes in life, it is a matter of survival.

Answer 8

There are only a few times I am dishonest. I have a pet peeve about liars and if I lie it can be read like I big Red Banner on my face.

The only time I lie is when I get harassing phone calls from salespeople, I lie and tell them that the person who makes the decisions is not in.

Answer 9

There is no answer to this question. If i say, i am totally and completely honest all the time, i would be lying because nobody ever can be and still function in normal society. If i say that i lie to everyone all the time i would also be lying because no matter how hard you try, you sometimes have to tell the truth. If i say i am truthful sometimes and i lie sometimes, would you believe me?

Answer 10

strange question.. but to tell you the truth sometimes I'm brutally honest and sometimes I lie like hell.. depends on the who and the what. If it's someone I truly care for then I'm honest to a fault, if it's someone I don't know then whats the difference (as long as it's not important that I be honest)

Answer 11

Fairly honest, mostly because I'm a really terrible liar and I've been lied to in the past in hurtful ways and I don't want to do that to anyone else. Lying aside, I am prone to exaggeration.