Self-Honesty

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” Richard Feynman

Self-honesty is not just the ability to be truthful to oneself but also accepting, acknowledging, and reflecting on our lives to see our true colors. Sometimes this kind of honesty is the most difficult. This is because we tend to cover and hide from our own ugliness and flaws. We all know that perfection is nonexistent so why do we still hide from ourselves?

Self-honesty involves employing hard emotional labor and some of us just don't like to work hard. We want everything to be easy. Aside from that, some of us prefer denying the truth rather than accepting it. We think it's too ugly or embarrassing.

We all know It is uncomfortable to ask and answer hard and critical questions. But the harsh truth is we make excuses to live in comfortable lies. Sometimes society shuns you for being yourself but that doesn't mean you should reject yourself as well. Honesty does not only lead you to self-discovery. It is also the way to self-freedom.

Self prison prevails as one of humankind's biggest drawbacks. We barricade ourselves behind walls. We prefer to be seen or to see ourselves in a certain way which we are not. We prefer to labor on pretense than to labor on acceptance which takes equal energy.

If this is the path we take we will never survive the highway to self-discovery. You shouldn't abandon your given lane because you're alone. Being alone doesn't have to mean you're lonely. It can also mean you are strong enough to do things by yourself. Look yourself in the mirror and say, "I will not walk around a fraud of myself just to identify with everyone else."

To achieve this kind of honesty consider working on these wholeheartedly:

1. Acknowledge the good and the bad within yourself.
2. Admit that you make mistakes sometimes.
3. Realize that you are not the only human making mistakes.
4. Remind yourself that dishonesty requires maintenance.
5. Pay attention to your emotions.
6. Practice, practice, practice

Everything that we work on takes practice to master. Instead of faking, use the energy to manifest the qualities you actually want. Put in the work and you'll see results as time passes. However, if you are inconsistent you won't see much changes. Don't be honest sometimes. If you are stuck on sometimes you're stuck in limbo. This is a stagnant quality that keeps you from growing and moving forward.

In fact, there are more reasons why you want to take your chances with self-honesty. Some of you probably won't note this and others may have already schooled themselves on it.

1. You have to remember the lie and you also have to make sure it is feasible.
2. You have to prepare to back it up with another lie, hence it never stops.
3. It is morally wrong to be a liar and nobody puts their trust in liars.

Constant lying encourages bad habits and promotes acceptance. In other words, when we begin to accept lies as a form of truth we forget the real truth.

There are countless other reasons to be honest, for instance, in a lot of cases people know that you are lying and tadaa, you look like a fool. You don't want to look like a fool, do you?

We lie for various reasons and we understand that turning from lies is hard. But look at the bright side. Self-realization, spiritual content, moving forward. Don't be held back by the lies you tell yourself. That is baggage that will burden you throughout life.

It is okay to be imperfect, we all are. You just need the courage and confidence to own your truth and take responsibility for your actions and emotions. Everyone struggles with this. What's good is that we want to be better, so we do better, day by day and step by step.

You are the only one who can set you free.

Tell yourself, “It is unfair to my soul to deceive myself.”

Make it a habit to assess yourself every now and then, and congratulate yourself on your accomplishments. Then make it your duty to work on the drawbacks.

If you truly put in the work I promise it will see fair results. Go forth and practice self-honesty as you will need it for the rest of the journey.

"Honesty doesn’t mean saying everything you think but thinking everything you say. " Chad proverb.