Ten Tips for Being More Truthful

By: Barbara A. Lewis

1.         Make a commitment to tell the truth.

2.       Tell someone about your commitment

Reflection: Making a commitment to tell the truth and to tell someone that you are committed to tell the truth is something to be proud of. Not a lot of people like telling the truth now in days and it is something good to commit to telling the truth and telling others so you can express positivity and encourage them to do the same thing. The truth is what will set you free and if you are lying you are only digging your own hole that will lead you to nowhere. 

3. Think Before You Give A Dishonest Answer, Explanation, Sarcasm, Or Reason.

Reflection: No one likes to be lied to, be given sarcasm, or a long explanation in a bad situation because the outcome will not be good. There is a time and a place to do those things but when it comes to something serious it is not the right time to do it. Not only does it increase the chances of you getting in trouble but it increases the chances of someone getting upset at you or maybe perhaps violent. It is important to know when to do these things because it will affect you in a good way or bad way. If you are having a good time and playing around with your friends than maybe it is good to use these things, but if you are in a situation where you and your friends are not getting along then it is not wise to use them. All in all it all matters in when and how you use these things.

4. Be Careful of When and how you User Exaggeration, sarcasm, or Irony.

Reflection: When someone wants to use exaggeration, sarcasm, or irony they have to be careful with when to use it and how to use it. Sometimes people tend to use these things when it is not the appropriate time to use sarcasm, exaggeration, or irony. It is important to be mindful of these things because you do not want to give someone the bad idea of you when you use these things at the wrong time and wrong place. When you use it at the right time it can actually make whatever you are doing fun and interesting because everyone loves sarcasm, exaggeration, and irony because it can be funny if it is used in the appropriate manner. All in all it all matters where you use these three things and how you use it because it can be a good or bad outcome.

5. Be Careful Not To Twist The Truth Or Leave Out Part Of It.

Reflection: Telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is extremely important in life for many reasons. To tell the truth means that you are a trustworthy person and that you can be trusted by others on whatever it is. When you twist up the truth, or leave part of it out, it does not help because you are basically lying about the truth in not saying everything and that is not the right thing to do because it makes you look bad, and it makes you seem like someone that cannot be trusted. This is the reason why it is important to always be truthful because if you are not you’ll just give yourself a hard time, and you can be saving that and just commit to being truthful. Telling the truth is key to success because you cannot lie to your boss, or any high authority above you. 

6. Don’t Indulge In Little White Lies

Reflection: Big lies or small lies, they are all the same and you are not being truthful to your full advantage. Indulging in a little white lie is not okay because even if it is a small lie it is still a lie and you are not being honest to yourself or the other person. Lying is not okay and it is not right either because it can hurt someone’s feelings or it can make you feel like a bad person and make you feel guilty. For example when you lie to your mom and say you did some of your homework and not all of it when in fact you did not do anything is wrong. Little white lies can also get someone in trouble with the law and it can turn into something serious. When they say lying is not good it is because it is not good and nothing positive comes out of lying.

9. Talk to yourself

Reflection: It is only normal for us to talk to ourselves, because most of the time that is what we are doing. Talking to your self is only normal and it is helpful at times, and most importantly that is what we do most of the time so it is okay. To talk to yourself is something interesting because that is what makes us human and it helps us release stress sometimes and talking to ourselves helps us keep ourselves straight and on the right path. Talking to yourself, it turns out, is a sign of genius. The smartest people on earth talk to themselves. Look at the inner monologues of the greatest thinkers. Look at poetry! Look at history! Albert Einstein talked to himself. He wasn't an avid social butterfly when he was growing up, and he preferred to keep to himself. Talking to yourself also makes your brain work more efficiently and it helps organize your thoughts, including achieving goals. Even as babies we did that to develop and help ourselves learn so it is only normal.

10. Treat yourself when you tell the truth

Reflection: When you tell the truth, that is when you are doing something good, and positive and you should totally treat yourself to something good. In life when you do anything that is good, and considered good behavior you should be rewarded for it because a lot of people cannot be honest to their full extent and if you can you deserve it. There is nothing wrong with treating yourself to something good because loving yourself and caring for your happiness is nothing wrong. Overall treating yourself when you have been telling the truth and have been doing positive things is a great thing to do.

Reflection

The ten tips can benefit you in many different ways. The ten tips can help you tell the truth more often, it can help you reevaluate your decision before you lie and don’t tell the truth. This can benefit you by encouraging to tell the truth and not lie. I am applying all of the tips and they are helping me in such a big way, and it is making a difference in my life because it is influencing me to tell the truth and not lie. I will incorporate these tips by staying true to myself and always being honest with myself in completing my life goals because I do want to achieve these goals in my life.