The belief
There’s nothing better than being completely, 100% candid. Not brutal, not careless, but complete. Half-truths and polite fictions feel safer in the moment, and they almost always cost more later.
Where it comes from
In 2014 a friend asked me how to tell his boss he was leaving. I told him to just be completely honest, that there was no other way. I’ve been saying versions of that ever since. In 2019 I wrote that our real crisis was an honesty and integrity crisis, and I still think so.
How it shows up for me
I try to say the true thing early, while it’s still small. It makes work easier, and it makes love easier.
And I fail at this. Years after giving my friend that advice, I left a job and said it was for “personal reasons,” with no real feedback, because it was easier. I’ve joked about allowing myself one lie a day. Believing in complete honesty is what lets me see those moments for what they were.
Go next
- Honesty, the value behind it.
- Integrity
- The news says that, not how much
- Radical truth