Minimalism and Honesty

 

“The badge of honesty is simplicity.”

 

-        Novalis

 

 

 

The key to being able to radically change your life for the better begins with honesty. If you are still able to convince yourself that life is just fine the way it is, then you would never have the proper amount of motivation to undertake such an approach as this method suggests. Honesty begins with you. If you are known as a liar, then people are less concerned about lying to you. Granted, some people lie to everyone regardless of their familiarity or reputation. However, those close to you will interact with you in a different way if you are known as a person of integrity.

 

 

Minimalism is about eliminating the things in our lives that distract us from the fullness of joy that we wish to experience. If we must constantly remember who we lied to and who we told the truth to, this practice of misleading others could be daunting. Simplicity is a word that is often thrown around in minimalist circles. More times than not, there are few things simpler than speaking the truth. Let’s take a look at a few different types of honesty that we are going to focus on in this method: being honest with you, others and being honest without omissions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being honest with you

 

 

 

“Therefore, be honest with yourself as to why you are choosing to do a particular thing. Then, do it gladly, knowing that you are always getting to do what you want. The statement “I have no choice” is a lie. You can choose. You simply do not prefer the alternatives available to you, for whatever reason. So you select the outcome that you most prefer.”

 

-        Neale Donald Walsch

 

 

 

Honesty is the beginning of true change. If you are not honest with yourself, then nothing I ever write will do you one bit of good. Imagine a morbidly obese person who has been told by their doctor that they must lose 100 lbs or they will die within the next six months to a year. Then, this obstinate patient defies his doctor’s orders and dies only several months later with no attempted change. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the reason this person refused to follow instructions is because they simply did not believe that they were a large individual?

 

 

 

Believe it or not, many of us are guilty of self-deception on some level. Whether it is our weaknesses, physical flaws, or shortcomings, we each have had to lie to ourselves at one point or another just to get through the day. While common, self-deception is one of the biggest barriers to self-improvement. You simply will not give any significant effort to fixing a problem until you acknowledge it exists.

 

Being honest with others

 

 

 

“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”

 

-        Abraham Lincoln

 

 

 

 

The truth is, most of the time, people actually do know when you are lying to them. Trying to remember every false story you ever told down to the minute detail can be exhausting. If minimalism is truly about seeking a simpler, joyful life, then don’t you think you would be a lot more joyful if you were free of the guilt of lying to people? I know, it’s sometimes easier said than done. There are indeed many times when telling the truth can have dire consequences.

 

 

 

While this does not happen all at once, the key to telling the truth all the time is to begin living a life of integrity. You may ask, “What kind of vague statement is this?” Or you might say, “No one tells the truth all the time!” Sadly, many people do not have the integrity to do so. Imagine you had a camera follow you around all day long. This invisible camera records every moment of your life. If others would view the movie recorded by this camera and truly see who you are behind closed doors, would you be ashamed? This is the litmus test of integrity.

 

 

 

 

 

Being honest, but without omissions

 

 

 

“The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time - and then shut up.”

 

-        Robert A. Heinlein

 

 

 

 

Lies of omission are by far the most common form of deception known to man. Technically, if every statement is true then how can it be a lie? This is not only a way to deceive others, but it is also a form of self-deception as well. The danger of engaging in lies of omission is that the teller of these lies begins to believe their own narrative. They convince others that these true statements strung together form the entirety of a circumstance’s reality and end up believing it themselves!

 

 

How do you feel when others are not entirely forthcoming with you? If you are to seek honesty in each and every situation, then you must place yourself in the other person’s shoes. Would you appreciate it if the other person left out this crucial detail that entirely changes the story? Would you want someone to omit sensitive material from their account, even if the truth hurts? The key to exercising honesty without omissions is to be empathetic to the needs and desires of others. Being able to place yourself in their shoes is crucial to understanding the why and the how to motivate your complete honesty with them.