Everyone is constantly trying to be successful. This isn’t a criticism because I think this is a good thing. I, too, am always trying to succeed in everything I do. We should always strive to reach our goals and achieve success throughout our lives. Where people fall short, however, is knowing how to be successful. Success is really quite simple, and the answer has been right in front of you your whole life: honesty.

I know what you’re thinking. How can honesty help me to be successful? Well, I’ve been honest my whole life because that’s how I was raised, and I would say that I’m pretty successful. Honesty can help you succeed in pretty much everything: work, relationships, friendships, school, and life. When you’re honest, people have more respect for you, and that will get you a long way. I’ve grown up with honesty as a core value my whole life, and I encourage the kids I work with to be honest every day. Honesty is more than just telling the truth; it’s also about being real with yourself. Here are a few ways that honesty can help you succeed.

Honesty at Work

Many people seem to think that being honest at work might get them fired, and while this could be true for certain things, I doubt it is true for most things. For example, if your boss gives you a lot work to do every day and you feel like there’s no way you’re going to finish all of it by the deadlines, you need to be honest about it. The best way for you to be successful is for you do arrange a meeting with your boss to have a discussion with them about something that is concerning you. During that meeting is when you need to be honest with them about your feelings. So, for example, you should tell them that, while you have been trying to complete every task given to you, you feel like there is a lot given to you. You can then suggest some other people who could help you with these tasks, or maybe there is a way can get all of it done. By being honest with your boss, you are not admitting that you are not good at your job. You’re admitting that you’re human. Try it. I’m sure, if you phrase everything the right way, you will get results.

Honesty in Relationships

This one seems obvious enough, right? You should be honest in your relationships. But people are frequently dishonest or hide their feelings. The best way to have a good, healthy relationship (which you totally deserve, by the way) is to be honest. When you’re hurt, be honest. When you’re sad, be honest. When you’re angry, be honest. When you’re excited, be honest. The only way for your partner to know how you feel is by telling them. No one is a mind-reader. You have to express your feelings for someone else to know and understand them. If you aren’t already, be honest with your partner about how things make you feel, but make sure you do it in a constructive, rather than accusatory, way. You can do it.

Honesty in Friendships

This is pretty much the same as relationships. You need to be honest about how your friends make you feel. Otherwise, how can they know? If someone makes a joke about you or something you did and you don’t like it, you need to say something. I can guarantee it won’t continue once you express yourself. (If it does continue, these are not your friends and I suggest finding new ones.) In this case, it is probably best to approach the person who made the joke personally and privately as not to embarrass that person in front of everyone else. If you do it in front of everyone, the other person will likely get defensive because they are embarrassed, and then there will be a lot of tension, which isn’t good. If it’s more than one person, then feel free to address the group in a polite but assertive manner. Honest is the best way to go with all of your relationships, so don’t be afraid to express your true feelings.

Honesty at School

I don’t mean academic honesty. (You should always practice academic honesty and refrain from cheating, plagiarism, and other things like that. But that’s a whole different article.) I mean that you should be honest with the people around you at school. Sometimes the best solution to stress is to be honest with your professor. For example, if you’ve been working on assignments non-stop and just can’t seem to catch a break, try talking to your professor about handing in your assignments a few days later. Professors (and teachers) tend to be pretty understanding individuals. Or, if you have a test coming up and you just can’t seem to understand a big part of the material, be honest and ask your professor for help. Go to office hours and stay after class. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Once again, asking for help shows that you are human. Also, if you’re working on a group project and you’ve been doing all of the work, be honest with your group members about how you feel. They might be a little annoyed, but they’ll probably start helping. Being honest in your academic career can help you be very successful because it will allow you to understand your own limits and acknowledge your flaws in a positive, constructive manner. So try it out! I hope it helps!

Honesty in Life

This is the culmination of the other categories I previously mentioned. We are always teaching children that they need to be honest all the time, but we need to be honest all the time, too. Aside from everything else I’ve mentioned, we need to be honest in our daily lives. Most importantly, we need to be honest with ourselves. It might seem like it’s hard to be dishonest with yourself because you know your own thoughts, but the reality is that it’s easy to push away negative thoughts to spare ourselves the pain of facing them. You need to be honest with yourself about how much you can handle, whether it’s in school, at work, or in relationships. Once you figure that out, it will be much easy to communicate with other people about it in an honest way. Plus, people admire honesty, so that helps, too.

Honesty is an admirable quality, and it brings in a lot of respect and kindness from others. But it is also a major part of success, so it is important to be honest. Be honest with those around you, and be honest with yourself. You’ll be much happier and likely a lot more confident.