Is Honesty Really the Best Policy?

Most of us have heard the axiom that honesty is the best policy. I’m confident many people abide by it. 

However, as I look back on my life, now that I’m in my sixties, I notice that every time I was completely honest in my opinions and feelings, it brought about horrific consequences. Life-altering mushroom clouds . . . ka-BOOM! . . . leaving me dazed, confused, and contemplating the scattered ashes of my life.

Unfortunately, this has happened to me more than once—actually several times. So, I’ve (finally) decided to change my thinking about this well-known advice to: 

1- Never be honest. 

2- Never say what you are thinking. 

3- Tell people exactly what they want to hear. If you don’t, you will pay the consequences.

Does this sort of thing happen to anyone else, or just me?

Author: Carolyn Kay Hanson

Carolyn was born and raised in Idaho. She has worked with animals for most of her life (prepare yourself, the list is long): cats, dogs, horses, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, turkeys, ducks, chickens, guineas, and geese. She was married to a cowboy for twenty-five years and during that time lived on seven different cattle ranches. She learned how to give shots to cattle, brand cattle, castrate bull calves and close the head catch in time to capture the beast that was flying through the working chute like a streak of lightning. She also learned to back the truck up to the trailer hitch and get it right the first time. When a teen, she attended horsemanship clinics and schools, and competed in horse shows that included dressage and jumping. She owned and trained seven of her own horses. After having two children, both of whom she homeschooled until they passed the SAT with flying colors (which is absolutely no credit to her as they both reside in the genius category and continually leave her wondering what the heck is going on) she dove into homesteading, learning how to make her own bread, make soup stock from scratch, butcher chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, and cows, and one year had so much fun canning everything in sight that when she counted the full glass jars in the pantry, she was shocked to discover there were over a thousand. Her knowledge of settings used as the basis of her stories is diverse due to the fact that she has lived in many different states including Idaho, Montana, California, Texas, Missouri, Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey, Washington, and Arizona. She now resides near Seattle. Her hobbies include knitting, crocheting, soap making, and, of course, writing. Oh, and her favorite author? P. G. Wodehouse.

One thought on “Is Honesty Really the Best Policy?”

  1. I think this is one of those times when it’s important to “know your audience.” There are times when you can be brutally honest because that’s exactly what they’re expecting from you, and then there are those moments where you better keep your mouth shut and agree with whatever they’re saying. It can be a difficult balance, and I definitely don’t always get it right either! But even though I may have been “too honest” at times, at least they got the real me, and if they don’t like it, so be it 🤷

    Liked by 1 person

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