Dishonesty comes in many forms from hiding emotions, to little white lies, to more serious infractions such as hiding addictions or fraud. If you want to be more honest with everyone, it all starts with you.
How To Be More Honest
1. Start with Yourself – Most lies start inside. You tell yourself that you’re only eating one serving as you shove another on the plate. It might even be more serious than that, but it always starts with lying to yourself before it moves on to lying to everyone.
2. Stop Doing Anything That Makes You Tell Lies – If you are engaged in any behaviors that cause you to lie to yourself or others stop doing those things. If you cannot be honest about it and own up to it, it’s not for you.
3. Be Yourself – If you’re unsure about who you are, you may want to explore that more with a life coach who can help you discover yourself. When you do know who you are, seek to be that person and don’t put on airs.
4. Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People – One thing that can cause people to be dishonest is social media and the perfection you see online. First, no one is as perfect as you see online. Remember that people like to share the good things in their life, not the bad.
5. Show Your Feelings – If you have a hard time showing your feelings and tend to hide them, that is also a form of lying or dishonesty – with yourself and others. It’s okay to have feelings and to admit to them and show them.
6. Get Professional Help – For some people, they may need help getting out of the habit of not being honest. Sometimes it’s just about showing your feelings easier, but if you do tell lies about things and it’s affecting your life a professional counselor can help you.
7. You’re an Adult – It’s okay to do what you really want to do if it’s legal. There is no reason to lie if you do things others don’t like. Many people tend to lie to authority figures or people they don’t want to hurt by their behavior. However, as an adult, you really don’t need anyone’s permission.
8. Stop “Little White Lies” – Now, you shouldn’t tell people that their new haircut is ugly, but don’t automatically gush over it if it’s not impressive. You don’t have to tell the salesperson a lie, or the PTA president, or even your boss. You can be honest about why you want to say no, and sometimes you don’t even have to say why.
Being honest is about being more assertive. You can say no when you need to say no without feeling bad about it. It might just take a little bit of practice depending on how long you’ve allowed yourself to be less than transparent. It’s going to feel so good when you do start being more honest with everyone, including yourself.