As you get older you learn that honesty is still the best in certain circumstances. However there is no rule book to those circumstances so you have to figure out what is best and what isn't. And sometimes you get it right and other times you don't.
As you get even older, you learn that not many people like to hear the truth, have flaws pointed out, or be told how or what to do. Typically if you feel the need to be truthful with someone the result will not be a thank you it will be an argument, a loss of friendship thus ruining your day.
Business is not all that different. You are required to be honest, but only to a certain extent in certain situations. Often times, someone asks for my honest opinion about their website design, brochure design or logo. I have learned this is a setup most times. If improvements can be made some people are receptive to change, others are not and end up getting upset with you.
It's a give take relationship I suppose. And what about business relationships? People are honest with me all the time. I am told what I should do, where I should take my business, change how I dress, how I approach certain things, or am a sounding board for others to vent on.
I don't know about you, but have you ever tried to turn those odds around? Tell someone your opinion, how you feel, how they should run their business, how they make others feel? To be honest (no pun intended) it never goes very well with me, someone usually ends up mad.
But that's human nature right? We say we can handle it when we can't. We say we can handle criticism when we really don't want to hear it. We tell others to just be honest and when they are, they are mad at you.
My solution, you learn about people. Find the ones that can handle honesty and use it when you can. Find others that cannot handle it, and hold back a bit - try a different way. The ones that have made it one sided - well, you handle them too. You don't say everything you would like to, let them handle their life they way they like it and you worry less about them.
Sounds tough, right? I really like being honest and telling others how I feel or how they made me feel. But it's not always appropriate. Save the real honesty for your close and true friends - you know, the ones where you could use as a punching bag and they still love you the next day. The ones that can't handle it, don't even try.
We live in a world of such diversity it's beautiful. If we didn't have all these different personalities life would be just a little boring and who wants that. Take a deep breath, take it in stride, keep your head up and keep going.
Life gets hard and business is even worse - but the benefits far out weigh anything that I have ever encountered - therefore I am always grateful.
Happy New Year,
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