5 Steps To Be More Honest With Yourself

If you are serious about improving yourself as a person, if you’re serious about developing yourself, then honesty is an important part of the journey. Honesty is a key aspect of developing because if you aren’t being honest with yourself, how on earth do you plan to grow?

When we choose dishonesty and delusion, we are choosing to see only what we want to. That might not sound so bad, but it means that you are ignoring a whole lot that you would prefer to avoid. It’s those things that matter the most. You’re securing short-term joy in exchange for long-term happiness. By the way, since your perception is your reality and you are refusing to see the truth, your world becomes a matrix of dishonesty and delusion which you are unable to see yourself. You need an honest perspective to see for you.

Being more honest with yourself might be painful, but it’s a necessary part of furthering yourself. How can you be more honest with yourself?

1. Acknowledge The Bad & The Good

The thing we are guiltiest of is embracing all of the good things about life, while completely ignoring the bad. It’s a bit like social media. We watch these timelines of pure joy and bliss. That isn’t real. People only share the best bits, it’s a slideshow of someone’s life and doesn’t paint a true picture of the hardships they might face.

We do this, too, whether it’s on social media or in our own heads. It’s just easier to ignore the bad things rather than deal with them head-on. Ignoring problems won’t solve anything, if anything, it will make things worse for you in the long run. Be honest with yourself about everything good and bad in your life, that balanced view will keep you sane. With social media, we compare our real life struggles and issues with everyone's "highlight reels". You're never fair to yourself when you do that.

2. Take Time For Self-Reflection

At the end of each day, take a few minutes to think about how it went. Ask yourself how you did, if there’s anything you did well or could have done better. You can be honest without being overly critical or too judgmental.

This exercise isn’t about damaging your self-esteem, rather, it’s about reflecting on the day in order to make tomorrow a better one. Reflection helps you learn about yourself and it can improve your ability to solve problems, too. When you allow yourself the opportunity to analyze the day, you’re going to get a better picture of what it takes to improve.

3. We All Make Mistakes – Admit It

Every one of us so, why can’t you just admit it? It is one of the most difficult aspects of being honest with yourself. It’s easy to slip into ego protection mode and fine an excuse or someone else to blame for a mistake. That’s not going to help you build a real sense of self-esteem, though. True self-esteem, true confidence lies in being courageous enough to own up to mistakes. When you can stand up and own shortcomings you can learn and grow.

4. Get Into Your Feelings

When people say they’re caught up in their feelings it’s usually used in a negative connotation. Yet, your emotions have an important role to play in how you understand and interact with the world. Emotions aren’t the reality, but they are revealing.

When you dig deep to figure out why you feel a certain way, you’re learning about the things that tend to make you feel that way. More importantly, you’re learning how to manage and respond appropriately. This is a level of honesty that your stress levels (and social circle) will appreciate.

5. Don’t Get Caught In Analysis Paralysis

As we noted above, it’s important to take time for reflection and analyze the day. However, it’s equally as important that you don’t over-analyze. It’s easy to get carried away. You don’t need to rationalize everything or intellectualize about it.

You simply need to be matter of fact. There’s no need to create an elaborate story about why bad things happen to you. You need only to note how it is right now and move forward. You can’t understand everything that’s going on in the world, and you don’t need to. You just have to be realistic, be practical and sensible.