The Prompt for this week from Sara at mumturnedmom is a quote and it is:
Truth is more important than modesty.
Roald Dahl
I know some people that seem to think that they can say the most rude and horrible things to people as they are just being honest and telling the truth and this really angers me.
I try to live my life in a very honest way as I do not like lies and people that are twofaced, but I think that there is a big difference between being honest and being rude for the sake of honestly. I like to treat people with respect and kindness, how I would like to be treated myself.
For example, if I am out with a group of people and someone keeps talking to me that I do not personally like, I would not say to them ‘Look, I do not like you so stop talking to me’ as that is rude and would really hurt their feelings. Instead I would be polite and answer anything they ask, replying to the conversation that they have started. Now some people would say that this was being twofaced but I do not agree. I think that it would only be twofaced if I actively started the conversations and arranged to go out for coffee etc. but then when she wasn’t there, moaned and criticised her to anyone that would listen.
Another example of this honesty is when someone asks how they look. Some people think that it is ok to say something like ‘Oh my god, you can’t wear that! You look really fat and you can see your cellulite’ as they are just being truthful. Personally I would say something like ‘Maybe you should try wearing this instead as it really goes with those shoes’ so that way I am being honest but also protecting the persons feelings too.
Some of things that I have heard people say are terrible and then after they say ‘I’m only being honest’ as if that excuses what has been said. They are proud of themselves for ‘telling it like it is’ and think that it is a perfectly good way to live their lives.
The truth is important but it is not always the most important thing for people to consider. So the next time you decide to be honest with someone, I ask you to stop and think for a moment how you will word that honestly and what impact that will have on the person that you are choosing to be honest with.
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