Page 136 - 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself

by a promise of a life being more righteous and proper. To me, the best case to

make for honesty is how beautiful it is, how clean and clear it makes the journey
from current reality to the dream.

When people know exactly where they are, they can go somewhere from
there. But being “lost” is a function of dishonesty. And when we’re lost, or
dishonest, anywhere we go from there is wrong. When we start with a false
reading, there’s no direction home.

Truth, on the other hand, is clear, complete, and compellingly vivid. It is
solid and strong, so it can hold us steady as we climb. “Truth,” said poet John
Keats, “is beauty.” The more honest we are with others and ourselves about
current reality, the more energy and focus we gather. We don’t have to keep
track of what we told one person or what we told another.

One of the best and most positive explanations of the beauty of personal
integrity was expressed by Nathaniel Branden in The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem.
Branden, unlike most writers on the subject, sees truth and integrity as a positive
part of the process of self-esteem. His point is not that we owe it to other
people’s sense of morality to be honest, but that we owe it to ourselves.

“One of the great self-deceptions,” said Branden, “is to tell oneself, ‘Only I
will know.’ Only I will know that I am a liar; only I will know that I deal
unethically with people who trust me; only I will know that I have no intention

of honoring my promise. The implication is that my judgment is unimportant and
that only the judgment of others counts.”

Branden’s writing on personal integrity is inspiring because it’s directed at
creating a happier and stronger self, not at a universal appeal for morality.

We describe a work of art that is sloppy and unfinished as “a mess.” The
problem with lying, or lying by omission, is that it leaves everything so
incomplete—in a mess. Truth always completes the picture—any picture. And
when a picture is complete, whole, and integrated, we see it as “beautiful.”

I’ll even hear about people—usually people whom you can’t believe about
anything—described as “a mess.” And conversely, a person who you can always
count on to be honest with you is often referred to as a “beautiful” person. Truth
and beauty become impossible to separate. Truth leads you to a more confident
level in your relationships with others and with yourself. It diminishes fear and
increases your sense of personal mastery. Lies and half-truths will always weigh
you down, whereas truth will clear up your thinking and give you the energy and