I have always thought about the profoundness of the statement “honesty is the best policy.” By the way, do you know who had said this statement first? It is Benjamin Franklin or Sir Edwin Sandys or Mahatma Gandhi? Appreciate your views in the comments box.

The glory of honesty

It is true that honesty saves time. When you are honest, people will value you for your genuineness. People will say, “Oh! She is such a sweetheart! She tells the truth and only the truth. We can always rely on her.” But have you ever wondered that we follow certain preconceived notions and don’t want to come out of it? We always believe in sticking to honesty, which can even hurt the sentiments of others sometimes.

Here comes the role of diplomacy But again, you will think, when honesty is such a beautiful quality, why should we ever think about diplomacy? Aren’t straight trees to be cut first?  That is why this blog endeavors to talk about refined honesty, brutal honesty, and diplomacy.

The tone which we use

I am an ardent believer of honesty. It all comes down to the tone we use. For example, I don’t like the cooking of my mother. Will I say, “Mother, this food is not at all good” in a harsh voice? Rather, depending upon the depth of the relationship, if I still use the same words in a cordial tone without hurting the sentiments of my mother, she will definitely understand. And for those who understand us, besides the truthfulness or diplomacy factor, it is a matter of valuing our relationship. So honesty can be either brutal or diplomatic. With deep contemplation, you will realize that honesty and diplomacy are not antonyms.

Honesty can hurt but it is worth it in the long run

There is a famous Tamil proverb அழ அழ சொல்வார் தமர் which means that those who are dear to you will speak the truth and explain to you your problems without hiding anything. It is our ego that stops us from listening to the truth. However, if you slowly try to imbibe their words of wisdom, you will definitely understand the value behind it. And it is worth mentioning that these people will be the first to appreciate your developments too. Value them in your life.

Appreciating the efforts

Well, here I should highlight some situations where people are diplomatic and give importance to appreciating your efforts. They just say whatever you do is good. You may also think why they are so diplomatic (the way of dealing with people in a sensitive way). Then I realized that they give importance to appreciating our efforts and that I know myself better. Is there anything more heartening than we being aware of our strengths and weaknesses and people take only the main role to encourage us?

Assessing the person

Nowadays people are so frightened with the confusion caused due to the hype given to honesty and diplomacy that first they assess the person and decide whether to be honest or diplomatic. But in this beaten up world that requires more kindness than ever, don’t you think honesty with a touch of sensitivity is more important? And as I said earlier, if the relationship is strong, it all comes down to telling the truth in an empathetic tone.