Being honest with people is an important step in building relationships. If everyone is confident in your decency, they trust you, you are appreciated and respected, you are considered. It seems that nothing is easier than being honest - you just need to always tell the truth. This can be a big problem. Being honest isn't always the best answer to a question. They can undeservedly hurt someone's feelings, offend and harm people. And it won't be fair.
Instructions
Step 1
Pick someone you can trust to be completely honest with them. You don't need to strive to answer openly to everyone's questions, but spouses, partners, and friends deserve to know the truth. After all, it is the ability to accept you as you are that is fundamental to intimate relationships.
Step 2
Start a "policy of honesty" with yourself. After all, here you do not need to be afraid to offend someone, offend or harm someone. Knowing the truth about yourself is sometimes more important than telling it to others. Do not lie to yourself even in small things, because they distort your perception of yourself.
Step 3
Find a balance between honesty and confidentiality. Being honest should not make you naive and vulnerable. There are things that we do not tell someone, because the person has no right to this information. It is one thing to keep silent about the fact that you have a child with your ex-wife, talking to someone with whom you hope to enter into a romantic relationship, and not telling about it to the aunts in the next section is another.
Step 4
Be careful when someone wants to share something with you in confidence. If your interlocutor wants to conceal an unseemly act and begins the phrase by saying that “just don’t tell X about this”, perhaps it would be best to interrupt him right there and say: “if this is something that I would like to know on the spot X, you better not tell, because I do not want to be responsible for such secrets."
Step 5
Think before "cutting the truth in the eyes" of others. If what you are about to say will do more harm than good, then it is better to remain silent. Ask yourself, would you like to face a "lover of truth" like you in such a situation?
Step 6
If you are asked a sensitive question, weigh the pros and cons before giving an honest answer. For example, if you are asked for advice in a serious situation, you should try to give it as tactfully but frankly as possible; if they are more interested in pro forma, then it may be worth leaving your opinion or knowledge to yourself.
Step 7
When you feel an urgent need to share some "truth" with someone, think about it - is this a really necessary step, or do you want to take it for the sake of your reputation as an honest person? Is the information you hold useful and important, or will it only emphasize your awareness and openness?
