In life, we all have decisions about how we’re going to live. We decide what our code of ethics is going to be, and how we will apply it to our lives. We decide how honest we are going to be with ourselves, and with others. Frankly, honesty matters. I think that being true to yourself, and to others is very important. You must be consistent across all facets of your life. You have to be true to yourself, and to others.
Now, I’m not saying you should walk up to someone and tell them that they’re ugly and certainly you wouldn’t walk up to the guy on the left here and ask him how old he is. There is such a thing as tact and grace, after all. But, I think that it’s important to keep to the truth. If someone asks me how an outfit looks, I will tell them.
I try to maintain a consistent persona across every facet of my life. Who I am at home is the same person I am at work, and the same person when I’m a Girl Scout Leader. My stories are all the same, because they are true. Yes, my life is a bit different at times, but seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up, if I tried.
Honesty matters, both internally and externally. I make it a point of trying to not lie to myself about what I’m eating, how much I’m exercising (not enough), and how my schedule is working. I try to make myself extremely aware of what’s going on in my life, and not lying to myself.
I also don’t lie to others. That is very important to me. Honesty matters to me. It matters a lot. I am who I am. I try not to get on other people’s nerves, and I really don’t like actively pissing people off. But I’m also not going to be false, and fake, and super nice to your face, and then talk about you behind your back, because that is dishonest as well.
Honesty affects so many facets of our lives that it is difficult to describe all of them. But in order to be a leader, to be trusted, you must be honest. That does not change. People need to trust leaders, and they do not trust those who are dishonest. Above all else, honesty matters.