The Kindness of Telling Your Truth

Have you ever found yourself telling people what you think they want to hear because you want to be nice?

The excuse you tell yourself is that you don’t want to hurt their feelings, when you really mean is you do not want to feel uncomfortable speaking the truth.

Being nice is at best apathetic and at worst cowardly!

What “no, I am really a very nice person!”

Think about it!

First, being nice when it isn’t your truth is lying.

Lies indicate you do not value the relationships. Lies deteriorate intimacy and destroy personal connections. You are better than that and so are they. If they are not, then why do you have them in your life?

Second, you are only responsible for managing your own feelings around telling your truth, you are not responsible for anyone else’s feelings.

You do not have the power to control someone else’s feelings. Any more than they have the power to control yours.

Third, do you fear that you won’t be loved or liked? Have people punished you historically for telling your truth?

If you have to change your truth to be loved or liked than you have compromised yourself, and who then are they really loving? You or the you they want you to be?

Respect your own truth, and respect others enough to tell then your truth in a kind way. You will honor yourself and others when you are brave enough to tell them your truth.

The truth told with love and caring is the greatest gift that we can offer others.