Living an Honest Lifestyle
Few people would argue that life is often
challenging or difficult. Those who have to struggle to maintain the
basic necessities of life find that even the smallest challenges can be
quite overwhelming. Even those individuals who have plenty can find
that life still presents them with challenges that they have to address
and overcome. The fact that life is full of ups and downs, good times
and bad, struggles and rewards should not actually be a cause for
concern. It is only when an individual does not understand how to work
through the tough times and seeks out quick, alternative solutions that
they will get into trouble. There can actually be a great amount of
happiness borne out of successfully overcoming the difficulties in one’s
life-if one overcomes these challenges honestly.
The Value of Honesty
Certainly,
anyone could think of many ways that being less-than-honest can provide
them with some sort of gain. The problem is that these gains are
short-term and cause the individual greater losses in the future.
Take, for example, the individual who knowingly gets a product from the
store for the wrong price due to an employee error. At first the
individual may be thrilled to have saved so much money, but as time goes
on their lack of honesty can begin to eat away at them, and the item
they once desired can become a reminder of the error they failed to take
action to correct. They may even find that they want to hide this
object away, or purposely try to break it, in order to clear their
conscience.
Even though dishonesty may occasionally give one a
temporary boost in their life where honesty may cause them to “rough it
out” a bit longer, one must also consider the many long-term benefits of
living an honest lifestyle, including:
Building and
maintaining closer and stronger friendships. Friends can most certainly
tell when you are being honest, and this makes you much more
trustworthy.
Better, more supportive friends. Your own honesty
can attract honesty in others and allow you to build a strong network
of supportive friends. A true, honest friend is a wonderful asset to
have, especially when life presents one with challenges and difficulties
to overcome.
Trust from others around you. It is a wonderful
thing to earn the trust of others around you-even strangers-and honest
people have this privilege.
Strong self-confidence. It may sound
funny, but the fact is that a truly confident individual is very
confident because he trusts himself. This means that he is usually more
able to face the challenges and difficulties of life with the knowledge
that he can make it through.
Better health. Honest people tend to
enjoy better physical, mental and emotional health than dishonest
people. This is likely largely due to the fact that they are comfortable
in the knowledge that they are doing their absolute best in life.
Less stress. While it is quite simple to maintain the truth, it is
quite difficult to maintain lies. One must remember tons of fabricated
details, and this can be very stressful. Honest people can entirely
relax as themselves, and don’t need to worry about maintaining a facade
that may crumble at any moment.
Leading an Honest Life
It
can take some effort to start leading an honest life, especially if one
has not been doing so for some time. However, as honesty takes hold, it
can become easier and easier to maintain. Following are five ways to
start leading an honest life:
Begin by being completely
honest with yourself. It is rather difficult to be honest with others if
you are denying the truth to yourself. This means that one may have to
admit that there are certain things in their life that are difficult to
face and handle, but simply admitting this to oneself opens the door to
taking action in order to resolve them.
Consider the long-term
consequences of your decisions and actions. It can be very easy to get
swept up in short-term gains, but this can sometimes get one into
trouble with honesty. Considering the long-term consequences can allow
one to truly see how each and every decision and action can affect their
future.
Maintain your own personal integrity. Your integrity is
your own personal decision to know what is true for you, and it can be
the backbone of an honest life. Relying on your own integrity rather
than the opinions of others can be very, very important.
Keep
your word once given. If you know that you cannot make a commitment, say
so. If you have made a commitment, keep it. There is a lot of personal
satisfaction in knowing that you are honest with yourself and others,
and that you can be depended upon.
Use honesty to encourage.
Honesty could be used as a sharp tool against others, but that
essentially violates the entire point of being honest. Honesty should be
used to encourage as much as possible, as this will allow it to
motivate others in their own lives.
An honest life can be highly
rewarding, even when it is sometimes difficult. The individual who
truly understands and uses honesty as the best policy in their life can
find that they are surrounded by wonderful opportunities and strong,
supportive relationships. There is no doubt that life is full of
rewards for those who live it in pursuit of truth.
Writer: S. S. Dzokoto
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