Honesty

^{Image by Dominik Rheinheimer from Pixabay}

It is almost impossible not to have moments in our lives when we hide one emotion or another. There are many reasons for doing so. Either because we are ashamed or embarrassed by our emotions or thoughts, or because we are unsure of how we will be perceived by those around us. We always do things in a way that doesn't disappoint others, but are we disappointing ourselves? Aren't we lying to ourselves by hiding those same emotions or thoughts?

Of course, we should always have a filter. We can't just go around blurting out and spewing everything we think, without even caring who hears our message or sees our actions. But we shouldn't condition our actions and speech in such a way that it can actually turn us into someone we don't recognize ourselves.

When we hide what we really think, another phenomenon occurs. We don't make clear what we think, or where we stand on an issue, or even on a political issue.

We end up learning a lot from other people when they don't get what they expect from us. This is a maxim that I have noticed several times in my life. When, for some reason, someone I don't know very well ends up not getting what they expected from me, something about them is revealed. And in this way, I end up avoiding unpleasant situations and having bigger surprises further down the road. Character is much clearer and more defined in disappointment. It's a law.

So, while being more honest may not bring us many friends, it will certainly filter our circle of friends, and we will be able to gather a group of people who will increase our capacity to grow.

^{Free image from Pixabay.com
Original text written by me in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)}