优质解答
You鈥檙e honest,right?You don鈥檛 fib,exaggerate,deceive,manipulate the truth just a little bit to escape a problem,or make up an excuse for not doing something?If that鈥檚 true,you happen to be in the extreme minority.
Research shows Americans tend to tell an average of 11 lies a week And three out of five people will tell at least one lie in a 10 minute conversation and not even realize they are doing it,according to research reported by Live Science.
Why do we lie?To make ourselves look better or to make someone else feel better are two reasons.And the minute our self esteem is threatened,we tend to pour on the exaggerations,falsifications and outright lies,according to the research done at the University of Massachusetts.
But as tempting 鈥 or habitual 鈥 as it is to lie,there are plenty of benefits to cultivating an honesty habit.
It鈥檚 good for your health.
Being honest has actually proven to boost your health.In a study at Notre Dame,researchers asked people to refrain from even white lies and exaggerations.When compared to a control group,the honest group experienced less depression and fewer health complaints like headaches and sore throats.
Honesty disarms people.
People can be disarmed by your honest response to a situation.Say someone angrily complains to you about your little boy鈥檚 rudeness on the playground.If,instead of a knee-jerk defensive not-MY-kid response,you say,鈥淥h,I know.He鈥檚 rude and rough and we鈥檙e working on it.Thanks for saying something,鈥 you have totally defused the situation.
It reduces stress.
Keeping track of deceptions is taxing,to say the least.Building a reality based on lies is the proverbial house of cards,and a dishonest person is always trying to make sure that it doesn鈥檛 come tumbling down.Choose honesty and you never have that stress.
It keeps you from lying to yourself.
Sometimes the person we lie to is the one in the mirror.Cultivating honesty means cultivating awareness of what is honest,and when you are aware in that way,it is hard to lie to yourself,about your feelings,your motivations and your actions.Being honest literally starts at home.
Very little can come back to bite you.
When we refrain from lying or manipulation in our dealings with others,we aren鈥檛 worried about negative actions coming back to haunt us.Some intrepid accountant might track down those inflated expenses that you turned in or that friend you lied to might hear the truth from someone else; why risk it,even if other people get away with it?
It builds self-discipline.
Examining things through the prism of honesty means you will be paying a lot more attention to what you communicate.If you鈥檙e honest,you have to admit that you really don鈥檛 know the truth of the gossip you are passing along.So with an honest approach to life,you won鈥檛 gossip.You鈥檒l think about whether you really need to tell that white lie.You鈥檒l decide not to make up excuses.
You attract better friends.
When you exude honesty and integrity,others with the same qualities are drawn to you.We are not talking about 鈥淚 tell it like it is鈥 bravado,which is often a mask for hostility and manipulation.But an honest approach to all your dealings and communication just naturally appeals to other people who operate the same way.
It demonstrates confidence.
If you are dedicated to being honest,you better be comfortable with yourself.Inflated accomplishments,bragging,false resume,keeping up with the Joneses:none of that has much of a place in an honest lifestyle.When you are honest,you are forthright about who you are and what you do.You believe in yourself.If you do have self-doubts,you鈥檙e honest about them,which demonstrates even more confidence.
It 鈥榮 good for your career.
When your employer knows you can be trusted,you usually get more responsibility,which leads to promotions and even greater responsibility.Customers who know they can trust you tend to come back and do business with you again.While it might seem that people who do anything to get ahead succeed,if 鈥渁nything鈥 includes a pattern of deception,they often get caught out eventually.Think Enron,and choose honesty.Morereasons to be honest at work from InsideBusiness360.
It鈥檚 good for your reputation.
Being honest wins you trust out in the world.When you are known as someone who operates with integrity,someone who can be relied on,someone whose word can be taken seriously,the benefits are huge.Your reputation often precedes you,and a habit of honesty means you can be making a good impression before you ever cross paths with someone new.
It鈥檚 good for your soul.
If you have a habit of lying,of dirty dealing,or of manipulating others (a form of dishonesty),it is taking a toll on you,whether you know it or not.Dishonesty precludes real connection with others,and as humans,we need that kind of connection.When you cut yourself off from others with dishonesty,you make yourself more alone.
You develop better judgment.
When you are honest and deal honestly with others,your bullshit detector gets stronger.Because you鈥檙e confident,you ask better questions and listen well to the answers,and that helps you to ferret out nonsense,make better choices and exercise better judgment in dealing with others,especially bullshitters.
It makes you more loveable.
Because trust is so important in love and friendship,being honest is likely to get you more of both.Of course,your significant other isn鈥檛 going to love it if you feel honesty compels you to tell him exactly how he bad he looks in those baggy shorts,but he will love that he can trust your feelings for him.Your friends will appreciate that your friendship is built on real feelings,not flattery or falsehoods.
It makes you happier.
When you are confident,less stressed,self-aware,connected to others and healthier,you鈥檙e happier.People in the Notre Dame study not only reported being healthier and less depressed after just five weeks of making a conscious effort not to lie,they also said their inter-personal relationships improved when they chose truth 鈥 or a smart silence 鈥 as the best way to communicate.
You鈥檙e honest,right?You don鈥檛 fib,exaggerate,deceive,manipulate the truth just a little bit to escape a problem,or make up an excuse for not doing something?If that鈥檚 true,you happen to be in the extreme minority.
Research shows Americans tend to tell an average of 11 lies a week And three out of five people will tell at least one lie in a 10 minute conversation and not even realize they are doing it,according to research reported by Live Science.
Why do we lie?To make ourselves look better or to make someone else feel better are two reasons.And the minute our self esteem is threatened,we tend to pour on the exaggerations,falsifications and outright lies,according to the research done at the University of Massachusetts.
But as tempting 鈥 or habitual 鈥 as it is to lie,there are plenty of benefits to cultivating an honesty habit.
It鈥檚 good for your health.
Being honest has actually proven to boost your health.In a study at Notre Dame,researchers asked people to refrain from even white lies and exaggerations.When compared to a control group,the honest group experienced less depression and fewer health complaints like headaches and sore throats.
Honesty disarms people.
People can be disarmed by your honest response to a situation.Say someone angrily complains to you about your little boy鈥檚 rudeness on the playground.If,instead of a knee-jerk defensive not-MY-kid response,you say,鈥淥h,I know.He鈥檚 rude and rough and we鈥檙e working on it.Thanks for saying something,鈥 you have totally defused the situation.
It reduces stress.
Keeping track of deceptions is taxing,to say the least.Building a reality based on lies is the proverbial house of cards,and a dishonest person is always trying to make sure that it doesn鈥檛 come tumbling down.Choose honesty and you never have that stress.
It keeps you from lying to yourself.
Sometimes the person we lie to is the one in the mirror.Cultivating honesty means cultivating awareness of what is honest,and when you are aware in that way,it is hard to lie to yourself,about your feelings,your motivations and your actions.Being honest literally starts at home.
Very little can come back to bite you.
When we refrain from lying or manipulation in our dealings with others,we aren鈥檛 worried about negative actions coming back to haunt us.Some intrepid accountant might track down those inflated expenses that you turned in or that friend you lied to might hear the truth from someone else; why risk it,even if other people get away with it?
It builds self-discipline.
Examining things through the prism of honesty means you will be paying a lot more attention to what you communicate.If you鈥檙e honest,you have to admit that you really don鈥檛 know the truth of the gossip you are passing along.So with an honest approach to life,you won鈥檛 gossip.You鈥檒l think about whether you really need to tell that white lie.You鈥檒l decide not to make up excuses.
You attract better friends.
When you exude honesty and integrity,others with the same qualities are drawn to you.We are not talking about 鈥淚 tell it like it is鈥 bravado,which is often a mask for hostility and manipulation.But an honest approach to all your dealings and communication just naturally appeals to other people who operate the same way.
It demonstrates confidence.
If you are dedicated to being honest,you better be comfortable with yourself.Inflated accomplishments,bragging,false resume,keeping up with the Joneses:none of that has much of a place in an honest lifestyle.When you are honest,you are forthright about who you are and what you do.You believe in yourself.If you do have self-doubts,you鈥檙e honest about them,which demonstrates even more confidence.
It 鈥榮 good for your career.
When your employer knows you can be trusted,you usually get more responsibility,which leads to promotions and even greater responsibility.Customers who know they can trust you tend to come back and do business with you again.While it might seem that people who do anything to get ahead succeed,if 鈥渁nything鈥 includes a pattern of deception,they often get caught out eventually.Think Enron,and choose honesty.Morereasons to be honest at work from InsideBusiness360.
It鈥檚 good for your reputation.
Being honest wins you trust out in the world.When you are known as someone who operates with integrity,someone who can be relied on,someone whose word can be taken seriously,the benefits are huge.Your reputation often precedes you,and a habit of honesty means you can be making a good impression before you ever cross paths with someone new.
It鈥檚 good for your soul.
If you have a habit of lying,of dirty dealing,or of manipulating others (a form of dishonesty),it is taking a toll on you,whether you know it or not.Dishonesty precludes real connection with others,and as humans,we need that kind of connection.When you cut yourself off from others with dishonesty,you make yourself more alone.
You develop better judgment.
When you are honest and deal honestly with others,your bullshit detector gets stronger.Because you鈥檙e confident,you ask better questions and listen well to the answers,and that helps you to ferret out nonsense,make better choices and exercise better judgment in dealing with others,especially bullshitters.
It makes you more loveable.
Because trust is so important in love and friendship,being honest is likely to get you more of both.Of course,your significant other isn鈥檛 going to love it if you feel honesty compels you to tell him exactly how he bad he looks in those baggy shorts,but he will love that he can trust your feelings for him.Your friends will appreciate that your friendship is built on real feelings,not flattery or falsehoods.
It makes you happier.
When you are confident,less stressed,self-aware,connected to others and healthier,you鈥檙e happier.People in the Notre Dame study not only reported being healthier and less depressed after just five weeks of making a conscious effort not to lie,they also said their inter-personal relationships improved when they chose truth 鈥 or a smart silence 鈥 as the best way to communicate.