Virtuous Qualities – Honesty

This week’s virtue of choice is…. Honesty.

Being honest is being sincere, open trustworthy and truthful. When people are honest, they can be relied on not to lie, cheat or steal. If they tell you something, you know they mean it.

With honesty you can count on your friends, family, classmates, colleagues and they can count on you. Honesty means not exaggerating something just to impress others.

Honesty is telling the truth no matter what, even it means disappointing someone. Being honest means you don’t make false promises. You do what you said you’d do. Your actions match your words. Integrity!

Honesty brings an element of trust and security to your relationships and to your life. Telling the truth and living your life honestly isn’t always easy and requires a lot of courage, but will bring you greater rewards in your personal and professional life.

  • Admit your mistakes
  • Keep your promises
  • Say what you mean
  • Mean what you say
  • Tell the truth tactfully
  • Refuse to lie or cheat
  • Refuse to steal

What virtue do you want next?

Be honest      😉


A lie has speed, but truth has endurance.  ~Edgar J. Mohn

We tell lies when we are afraid… afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us.  But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger.  ~Tad Williams

Some people will not tolerate such emotional honesty in communication.  They would rather defend their dishonesty on the grounds that it might hurt others.  Therefore, having rationalized their phoniness into nobility, they settle for superficial relationships.  ~Author Unknown

It takes two to lie.  One to lie and one to listen.  ~”Homer Simpson,”

One comment

  1. And here’s one: In Aussie culture we tend to make promises and break them later because we internally resolve that some circumstance has changed that justifies it, and if the promisee brushes it off with “no worries” (which translates to “I can see why it was convenient to change your mind yet not to tell me.”)

    When you think about it, not good.

    So don’t make a promise unless you’re sure you can keep it. Instead of saying “I’ll call you tomorrow” just don’t say anything. If and when you have the time tomorrow, call them then.

    > What virtue do you want next?
    Immortality!

    Well… you said to be honest(!)

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