Why is honesty important?

Question

I keep getting told since young that honesty and integrity are important. In what way? I know being honest is good and all but even if I do I don’t get why I should. Other people don’t care about me being honest. I’m that I’m selfish or anything, like everyone I have lied from time to time. Why is honesty so important?

Answer 1

Every relationship in your life is probably built off the ability for you to trust them and them to trust you, which is difficult if you’re not honest with that person. Honesty is important for you to be able to build meaningful and lasting relationships, in your job at the very least. If there’s no trust, then there’s no credibility for us as people to have any sort of influence over anyone else. It’s the very basic foundation on which all relationships are built. So if you have a reputation for being a dishonest person then it’s very likely that it will be difficult for you to make personal relationships or even business relationships. Even family relationships require this honesty and can’t thrive off of a blood connection only.

Answer 2

Since you clearly don’t care much about other people or what they think of you, think about how being honest can benefit you (I’m assuming this would be the only motivating factor for you?). In a nut shell, honesty will help you personally (honesty and the trust associated with it are fundamental elements of any good relationship), professionally (who’s going to promote an employee who is known as a liar and a cheat?) and socially (people are generally drawn to people who they can trust to be honest). You say that “like everyone I have lied from time to time” - if you’re going to be like “everyone” what is going to make you stand out from the crowd? What is your draw card? Why should anyone care about you? But, if you are honest and trustworthy then you will have a good reputation in all aspects of your life.

Answer 3

Honesty is important in learning and maturing as a person.

We can actually put honesty in two different ways, honest to yourself and honesty with other, though I would argue that either way it is still about being honest to yourself. Anyway, being honest to yourself is the key to self-growth and learning as a person. If you fall off a bike or fail a test you didn’t study, you could either blame the bike for being two-wheeled or the test for being too difficult. Being honest to yourself would mean you understand that you are not trying hard enough on the bike and that you fail the test because you didn’t study for it. Not being honest makes you close your mind not and not trying to improve yourself. That trust you build to yourself will in turn build confidence to win in life. You understand how to conquer that fear of failing and you end up a better person.

Then we have the honesty to others. Honesty keeps everything going. It’s what keeps the economy going. The chain of trust is created by contracts that lead from materials to be delivered to the shop shelves. You can’t be dishonest to others and expect them to be honest to you. People have this strange sixth sense to liars. You can only deceive them so much. Honesty is probably most important in business and relationship in this case. Keeping your promises would build your credibility, that way you earn people trust. It just takes one dishonest act that will destroy it all. However, do not mistake honesty as being open. It is about building people respect on the real you. That real you are based on how honest you ever will be, whether in how you told your “white lie” in order to not hurt others. Knowing how to be honest is just important to be able to relate with people.

Comments

Okay, so I see why is honesty important now. Thanks!

Answer 4

Let’s be honest, lying takes a lot of work and usually ends up backfiring. They say honesty is the best policy for a reason. Honesty is important because it saves us from making a mess of things by lying and having to pull ourselves out of a tangle of excuses. When you tell one lie, you will likely have to tell a series of lies to back it up and support it later on. The first excuse is never the end but the beginning of a slippery slope!

Answer 5

If you want to grow as a human being, then you should care about being honest. If you can’t be honest with other people, then how will you be honest with yourself? Personal growth is a result of building positive qualities within yourself, a process that helps you to reject the negative and lead a more enriching life. Dishonesty is synonymous with being artificial and untrustworthy – negative qualities that will hold you back from reaching your full potential. Ever heard the expression “you get what you give”? If you are dishonest then people will be able to tell (most can spot a fake a mile away) and they will not feel the need to be honest with you.

Answer 6

People are naturally curious, and not telling them the truth about something will make them try to guess what is actually going on. Even if you don’t want them to know, you should tell them the truth because what they come up with might be far worse. So in my point of view, why is honesty important, because it stops people from trying to guess it themselves and start potentially harmful gossip. We all know how much people like to gossip, and you’ve probably run into this problem before when trying to keep quiet about something. Being honest means that you can take the responsibility of the truth into your own hands.

Answer 7

Seriously? Asking why is honesty important is like asking why is oxygen important or why are seatbelts important. There is nothing forcing you to breathe oxygen and there is often nothing forcing you to wear a seatbelt – but you’re an idiot not to. Honesty is one of the fundamental pillars of society. Our courts of law rely on witnesses who promise to tell “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. If everyone decided that they weren’t going to be honest then what sort of a society would we live in? Everyone would cheat on their tax (leading to insufficient funds for schools and hospitals), students would cheat on tests, government officials would be corrupt, police wouldn’t take reports of crimes seriously (because how would they tell whether or not you’re telling the truth?) and the world in general would be a much grimmer place. So do your part for society and try being honest for a change.

Answer 8

Honesty truly is the best policy. Honesty is the foundation of any well-working relationship. Whether it’s with your parents, friends, or anyone else, honesty is important. No relationship can be successful without trust , which is gained by honesty. We have been taught at an early age that it is good to be honest. Honesty is the most important thing ever. It is good to be honest because it builds student trust. Honesty is the key to trust. When you consistently speak the truth, people feel safe to believe you. It is also good to be honest because it builds character. Honesty helps strengthen character. Honesty shows a person can be trusted. If you are honest people respect you more. Honesty is important in learning and maturing as a person. Honesty is not only about telling the truth but doing good. Trust is built on honesty and if you break it, there is nothing left. If a person is honest then others might obey or look up to that person. If you are honest you will be most likely succeed in life, than to those who are not honest. Honesty is important because it’s the foundation of trust and happiness within loved ones. Also, honesty is the gateway to happiness. Lies can hurt the ones you love. Honesty makes you feel responsible.  

 

Answer 9

Honesty is key for any kind of communication, and honesty is important because people can’t read your mind. It’s not just facts that you should be honest about but your thoughts and feelings too. Being honest means that you tell people how you really feel about something instead of hiding it. If you’re up front then everyone can be on the same page to move forward.