“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
MARK TWAIN.
One major virtue that is most desperately needed all over the world today and at the same time very hard to come by is a virtue called ‘honesty’. Honest people are needed in all spheres of human endeavors. They are needed in businesses, religion institutions, government establishments and everywhere. To be honest is to always tell the truth all the times; even when it’s dangerous to do so.
Today, businesses are crashing. Friendships are tearing apart. Families are in disarray. Marriages are crumbling. Religion institutions are battling with integrity problem. All these are the outcomes of dearth of honesty in our society today. The situation is so worse today that an attitude such as returning misplaced items to the rightful owner which should be a normal thing in an ideal society is now being celebrated as a heroic pursuit. Honest men and women are very hard to come by these days. Are you one of them?
What does it mean to be honest? To be honest is to always tell the truth, and never to cheat or steal. Honesty is the quality of being honest. An individual, a team, a company, and even a country should be known for honesty. Honesty is a great virtue.
Some companies falsified their books just to cut corner when it comes to taxation. Several other companies doctored their financial records just to deceive shareholders and investors. The same companies would be frown at staffs that are involved in fraud, age cheat and other vices. What a great hypocrisy? Politicians that are pocketing billions of dollars of their country’s money through corrupt practices are at the same time setting several millions of dollars aside to fight corruption. Who is deceiving who? Individuals in places of work are in the habits of diverting office stationery for personal use. This also is dishonesty. Not even an official envelop should be converted to personal use. Are you guilty of this? Stop!
The truth of the matter is that hardly can one find five honest people in a group of hundred. The situation is all that bad. Today parents are spending thousands of naira just to ensure the success of their children in major examinations through examination malpractices. What a wrong way to bring up the leaders of tomorrow!
To be sincere, hope is not lost. We can still redeem the situation. We can still all turn a new leaf. All it takes is to change our minds and our attitudes. We can all imbibe this virtue of honesty. It pays to be honest. Do you know that even armed robbers want people to be honest in dealing with them? They want their victims to declare and bring out all the money at their disposal, without any reservation. What an irony?
How can I be honest? The five strategies enumerated below can get you there and keep you there.
• Always let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’, ‘No’.
• Never go against your conscience in all personal and business dealings.
• Always take permission from your superior or any other person including your spouse, parents or children before using anything that belong to them.
• Confess all wrongdoings to those affected immediately.
• Never take anything that doesn’t belong to you nor cheat on others.
We can have a world populated by honest people. A world where people of integrity outnumbered those who are dishonest. We can all work together to make this a reality. Let’s start from our families, offices, schools, churches, communities, and make this world a better place. You have a role to play!
About the Writer
Ajiboro Ayodeji is a Chartered HR practitioner based in Lagos, Nigeria. His areas of interest are Human Resource, Training, and Entrepreneurship. Tel: 2348027807452. Email: hutrenconsulting@gmail.com.
________________________________________
The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the www.hutreninspirational.blogspot.com. Please retain this notice on all copies.
© Hutren Consulting 2011
