How to be honest with yourself
There are lies we tell people and there are lies that we tell ourselves. We all lie to ourselves from time to time, the intensity is what differs from person to person. How can you identify that you’ve not been honest with yourself? If you’re the type of person who keeps complaining without taking action, you need to start being honest with yourself. Complaining can be an addiction, if you’re complaining about something in your life that’s in your control take action. Stop complaining about that job you hate and start a side hustle or apply for other jobs.
Another sign that you’re not being honest with yourself is self-sabotage. This is when your actions don’t match your goals and ambitions. At some point, we all do things that prevent us from being successful. Learning how to be honest with yourself is acknowledging self-sabotage. It can be brutal to accept but it’s necessary. Liberate yourself by being honest with yourself.
If constructive criticism doesn’t sit well with you, chances are you’re not honest with yourself. Getting defensive every time someone gives you constructive criticism is the first sign. No one is perfect and accepting this could be the first step when accepting how to be honest with yourself.
Learning how to be honest with yourself is a journey, it’s not going to be easy but it’ll be worth it. It’s about unlearning what you believe in and accepting that you’re full of BS. Once you accept this and start being honest with yourself you become more successful and your relationships thrive.
Here are some tips on how you can be honest with yourself and to stop creating a false reality;
Change Your Mindset
When it comes to being honest with yourself, you have to change your mindset. Accept that at times you tell yourself lies and you are not honest with yourself. You are just human and you aren’t perfect. You have to acknowledge that you lie to yourself before you can start being honest with yourself. Accept that your point of view needs adjusting and negate any negative self-thoughts that may be associated with the process.
Accountability
Start holding yourself accountable for the decisions you make in your life and for where you are in your life. Stop making excuses and placing the blame on circumstances and other people. Where you are in life is because of the choices you’ve made in your life. This can be a bitter pill to swallow but you need to acknowledge it.
Making the same mistakes over and over again is a decision you make. If you want to lose weight but you’re always ordering junk food ask yourself why are you like this? To hold yourself accountable in any situation is to learn how to be honest with yourself and accept full responsibility. Holding yourself accountable will help and guide you in the path of being honest with yourself.
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Normalizing Mediocrity
The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that it’s okay to live a normal life as long as you have the basic needs. So you work at a job you hate, you neglect your self-care routine and you force yourself to adjust to a routine you don’t like. We often compare ourselves to other people in society by telling ourselves ‘I need to be grateful, other people are in worse situations than me’. If you’re not okay with your lifestyle it’s okay to admit it to yourself. Stop normalizing an average life and be honest with yourself about the life you want. Be honest with yourself, if you feel like you’re not meeting the standards that you have set for yourself. When you stop comparing yourself to society and its standards, you can truly be honest with yourself.
Self Awareness
Being self-aware will help you evaluate where you are in life, your patterns, bad habits, and emotions. When you are self-aware you know why you are the way you are and this way you can start being honest with yourself. Self-awareness is knowing your personality, strengths, habits, and weaknesses. The people around you can help you in raising your self-awareness because at times the people around us know us better than we do. Once you are self-aware you can truly be honest with yourself.
Forgive yourself
The journey to being honest with yourself is also learning how to forgive yourself. Most of us are too hard on ourselves. However, if you want to move forward in your life you have to forgive yourself for your past mistakes. When you start to hold yourself accountable, you start to identify that you’ve been the problem all along. This can be particularly hard. Self-forgiveness is very powerful if you want to start being honest with yourself. Forgiving yourself is owning what you did and acknowledging that you’re ready to move forward. Go easy on yourself but don’t make the same mistake twice.
Self Reflection
Acknowledging the fact that you are not honest with yourself is the easy part. The challenging part is breaking your bad habits. Include self-reflection in your self-care and self-improvement regimen. At the end of the day or the week make a list of all the things that you did right when you were not honest with yourself, and what you would have done differently. Keeping track of when you’re not honest with yourself will help you identify your triggers. This way you can improve on it and make it easier, to be honest in future. Remind yourself that being honest with yourself is very important.
Being honest with yourself is greatly beneficial. It helps you master your emotions and personality. You become more accepting of your weaknesses and flaws and realize what you can actually achieve. It helps you get in touch with yourself about what you really want in life. Self-honesty also helped get rid of any false reality you may have. Your relationships become better.