Honesty

By Kat


It's always tough to be honest, especially with people you care about.
A difficult part of belonging to society is your obligation to criticise. Many will be asked this on a daily basis, and often it's hard to ration out criticism in a way that is appropriate and where no-one is offended by your truthful comments.
I'm experiencing this at the moment, where a friend of mine believes himself to be set for a career, where he really isn't great at his 'hobby', to say the least.
It goes both ways too, because commenters can be too harsh yet people can be too sensitive in general. The truth hurts, yet it's an arduous task to try and balance yourself between giving helpful and constructive criticism without hurting anyone.
You can see the extremes play out so poignantly. On the one hand, we have people raving, raining their words of praise- "You're great at this, keep going!"- but of course, that can get out of hand and then before you know it, you'll be trapped in a web of lies. On the other, we have the coldly honest, who immediately offend with their harsh criticism. Either way, its a lose-lose. So breaking news to someone isn't the greatest way to spend a day.
I'm planning my honesty right now. I aim for subtlety and suggestion for improvement, although I can't say that all people take improvements willingly. But some of his other friends have taken it too far, I think, because their egging on has led to a potentially embarrassing situation that is inescapable. There's a point where we have to accept our strengths and weaknesses. And I think that the best people to ask if you want a reality check are your family, because they aren't afraid to be brutally honest- after all, you are stuck with them. For many others, its all about walking the tightrope. Obviously its not good to offend, but I see way too many people openly showering their admiration where it really is unwarranted. These situations are practically as dangerous as full-on insults in the long run.
I believe that it's important for both critics and subjects of criticism to realise that sometimes, they just need to take a step back and take a long look at themselves. Often, we don't realise when our words of wisdom may come off as pretentious, or when our goals are unrealistic based on our skillset and personality. Doing so every now and then could save a lot of trouble later on.