People who brag about being “brutally honest” usually enjoy the brutal part a lot more than the honest part.
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS MEANS
Announcing bluntness in advance is usually a request for permission. The phrase sets harshness up as a virtue so nobody can object to it afterward, and in practice the people who use it deliver far more brutality than information. Honesty needs no introduction. It can be delivered gently and stay exactly as true.
When you hear the phrase, listen for whether anything useful follows and take only that part. When you are tempted to say it, drop the preamble and see whether the point survives on its own. If it needs the warning label, the problem is not the truth.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
When have you called something honesty to excuse being harsh?
MORE IN TRUTH, ACCOUNTABILITY & SELF-AWARENESS
- White lies are small loans. The interest shows up when you have to remember which version you told to who.
- Whatever you say about someone who isn’t there teaches your listener exactly what you’ll say about them.
- That comment you typed in ten seconds can be dug up in ten years. The internet has a long memory and no delete key.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.