Let’s be frank, honesty annoys people.
I’m not talking about honesty that is cruel, thoughtless, and said off the cuff. I am talking about honesty in how two adults can relate to each other. We say we want honesty, but most of us lie most of the time.
Life is about balance. Yet our society rewards those who lie, and those who lie the most get rewarded the most. It’s perverse, isn’t it? We think we value ethical behavior, but the reality is that we value what is easy, reasonable, and socially normal.
Let’s talk about some examples. Almost 100% of social media is BS. Everyone wants to project an image of who they are, and it isn’t who they are. I am not what you think of me, even if that is helpful or not. We are more than what others think of us, and we are more than what we think of ourselves. Either we are more than a machine and a monkey, or we are nothing and everything is meaningless. I am more than a machine, even though I can’t prove it. If I am wrong then by acting nobly I might have improved a few other’s lives. If I believe the latter, however, my life will be self-absorbed and destructive and that is not how I want to live.
Life is a choice. We can choose to be as authentic as possible, and annoy many people in our lives. Or we can do what is easy and become rich, well-liked, and acceptable. People want to be told they are right, and most people do not value honesty. If people valued honesty, then this world would be much different. It is hard to hear certain things about ourselves, but is it crucial we consider all feedback even from those who don’t care about our well-being.
We grow by doing and thinking about difficult things. That includes hearing things that you don’t want to hear.