Honesty is being truthful, not lying or cheating and so, being honest is the best thing. Honesty can sometimes be a brutal truth which might be difficult to digest. It gives anyone a reality check and if taken positively it gives wide scope to growth and improvement. However, there are many instances where being honest can go wrong such as – when a doctor is being honest to a patient who is about to die in a few days or weeks. If ‘I am honest’ is a question whose answer can only be one among ‘yes’ or ‘no’. So, should we be honest or not?
In this world of diversity what fits is ‘Being selectively honest’. In a social context we cannot undermine poor by saying they are poor. However, being diplomatic we can say you have great potential to be rich. In an economic context we must be honest to avoid financial stress. We should have a clear understanding of financial outflow and inflow to control our expenditure.
In childhood we must have been in a position where our parents patted us for our worst painting and they will say it is the best in the world. They say this to encourage us and that is okay. But was it honest feedback? I believe what is most important is to be honest to oneself and to one’s own work/profession. But we can lie or be dishonest for good sense.
So, there is a thin line between where we can be honest and where we cannot. If we have that understanding we can be ‘dishonest good soul’. Like many others I am too a selectively honest person. I am purely honest to myself and strive to get brutally honest feedback for my self-improvement and growth. But I do lie at many instances to motivate or uplift others
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