Honesty, Integrity & Truth - H.I.T.

There is a simple slogan that goes: "Honesty Is The Best Policy". Does this still hold true in a world of sly and cunning where even sportsmen cheat? Why is that when people got cheated they feel a great sense of betrayal and yet they do not think twice when it is their turn to be dishonest? The advantage of telling the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said the last time.


Don't people realise that there is no such thing as a more honest or less honest person. You are either honest or dishonest. It is an absolute like integrity and truth. You either have integrity or you do not. It is either the truth or it is not. Anything less than truth - words added or subtracted is a lie. You must want and desire truth like a dentist's slogan in wanting your tooth: "I want the tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth".

Honesty, integrity and truth is like water as Bruce Lee would say it. Bruce's focus on water was to be like water in that water takes the shape of what holds it like a bottle, pot or a cup. It flows and fills into cracks gently or can crash like a waterfall. An absolute gem of a philosophy but water is more than that. It is either clean or tainted, murky and dirty. When you mix clean water with filthy water what do you get? You'll get filthy water because the clean water cannot purify the filthy water while the filthy water will contaminate the clean water. Life is much like water.

Lies

It is a human condition to lie. When a child is old enough to speak, he will lie. "Who spill the milk?" "No, not me." We may even believe that some lies are acceptable. Lies have its costs and consequences such as living with the stress of it. Can one go a month or a week without lying to others or yourself? Is there such a thing as the power of truth? Can one really achieve the complete power of honesty and integrity?


Five Levels Of Truth



In his book, Conversations With God, Neale Donald Walsch wrote: "First, you tell the truth to yourself about yourself. Then you tell the truth to yourself about another. At the third level, you tell the truth about yourself to another. Then you tell your truth about another to that other. And finally, you tell the truth to everyone about everything.


Quotes On Truth

Socrates said: "The shortest and surest way to live with honour in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be".
(1) No legacy is so rich as Honesty (2) This above all, to thine own self be true - William Shakespeare



Where is there dignity unless there is Honesty - Cicero
Truth is generally the best vindication against slander - Abraham Lincoln
You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time - Abraham Lincoln



Never apologise for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologise for the Truth - Benjamin Disreali
Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be Honest with ourselves - Walter Anderson
Some people will not tolerate emotional honesty in communication. They would rather defend their dishonesty on the grounds that it might hurt others. Therefore, having rationalised their phoniness into nobility, they settle for superficial relationships - Unknown author
A lie will easily get you out of a scrape, and yet, strangely and beautifully, repute possesses you when you have taken the scrape and left out the lie - Charles Edward Montague
Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value - Albert Einstein
Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you - H. Jackson Brown Jr.
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Every lie has a consequence, you cannot escape that - Gary King

With lies you may get ahead in the world but you can never go back - Russian Proverb
A half truth is a whole lie - Yiddish Proverb
The light is more than abstract, unknowable energy force. Light is Truth. If light is truth, then darkness must be lies. Each and every lie we tell to ourselves and others cast a shadow of separation upon us. Every time even the most minor deception is revealed and the truth is made known we are reunited with the light. So, let there be Light. Those are the words that you can create your own magnificent world - Renee Bledsoe



Have the courage to say No. Have the courage to face the Truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with Integrity - W. Clement Stone



What you get in life is not a result of what you want, it is a result of who you are - Marlon Smith
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free - Jesus Christ (John 8:31-32)


Honesty With Self


First and foremost, we have to be honest with ourselves. we reflect and evaluate our own performance and our relationship with others. Unless we are honest with ourselves we cannot change or improve. We should observe ourselves passionately and advise ourselves on our behaviour and habits. Honesty with self is the very first step.
Why Lie?
Lying is a short term gain because you may temporarily appear to have solved a problem. It is exactly like sweeping dirt under a carpet. The dirt is still there but it is covered by the carpet. Nobody seems to have seen it but oblivious to you some one may have caught you in the act. Even if not, some day it will resurface.



It is therefore impossible to conceal a truth forever. Even dead bodies can be dug out. That the truth will eventually come out is the natural order of things. The judicial systems of the world is supposedly founded on truth and this is also the basis of how all relationships should be. Any relationship built on lies be it personal, professional, business, etc. will not long endure but one that is founded on truth shall endure and benefit all. Truth is a habit and you can make it a habit by doing so even on the smallest issues so that it become second nature to you and you shall instinctively know how to do so rather than face future consequences. You can end up with your pants down.



It is also good to know that the worst mistake is to persuade ourselves to accept a falsehood. It is definitely wrong to fool other but to fool yourselves, you take the cake of disaster.

Why People Lie?
If we do not know how the world works or in subjects of weakness, we may feel inadequate or ashamed even though there is nothing to be ashamed of when you do not know something or how to solve it. Who is born to know everything. In order to hide an inadequacy, we try to cover up. Some times we use lies as cunning weapons on the sly. People who lie constantly fear the truth and run away from his own ability for goodness and in the long run hurt others and hurt themselves.



If you were in the company of people be it family, colleagues or friends who are used to deceit and lies, you will surely feel awkward when you tell the truth. To fraudsters and corrupted people, the truth is nothing but a dangerous lie.



When a person takes in a lot of sugar and salt which are bad for health and one day he was given food that is healthier having less sugar and salt, he will feel something missing as the food doesn't taste as good. This is the same as honesty. A person who cannot have honest interaction with others, who has to use his wits to lie to protect himself cannot have meaningful relationships. People today still think that by being honest, you will lose out in life.

Integrity
Integrity is about doing the right thing even if no one is watching. You will become a person of integrity when you will not compromise your values. We always wanted the truth from others but when giving the truth we don't do it well and do not realise that the lies will cause more damage than the act which led you to lie.



Honesty, Integrity and Truth is a rare commodity. Rarer than the rarest diamonds or other precious metals and gems. Few people have them. These should be collectors' items since they are so rare they become invaluable and priceless. God bless you if you have them. God help you if you don't. At the end of time, these qualities are your redemption.

Truth

Truth is conformity to fact or actuality. Truth is sincerity in action, character and utterance. What is Truth and what does it mean for a statement to be true? An absolute truth is universal truth, it is an unalterable truth which means it is a permanent fact. Plato believed that absolute truth existed.

The truth will set you free. So get to the truth. The truth hurts. Hey, please don't shoot the messenger. Honesty, Integrity and Truth or HIT are the rarest commodities. When you find people with these qualities, make them your life long friends or partners. They should be a protected species and may be extinct over time. HIT me with your best shot!

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