URDANETA CITY National Service Training Program

UNIVERSITY
Owned and operated by the City Government of Urdaneta

MODULE 3.1

HUMAN
BEHAVIOR:
HONESTY
CRISANIE L. CACANINDIN, LPT
NSTP Instructor
 HONESTY
Lesson 1: The Meaning of Honesty

Lesson 2: The Importance of having a Honest Behavior

Lesson 3: The Benefits of Honesty in different Aspects

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 Lesson 1:
The Meaning of Honesty

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 HONESTY is the best
policy.
▪ Honesty is defined as fairness and straightforwardness of conduct.
Synonyms include sincerity, integrity and trustworthiness. They're
all good qualities to find in a person and certainly worthwhile to
learn.
▪ Honesty is part of the foundation of my core values and principles.
Honesty cuts through deception and knifes its way through deceit
and lies. Honesty leads to a fulfilling, free life.
▪ Honesty is not just about telling the truth. It’s about being real with
yourself and others about who you are, what you want and 
what you need to live your most authentic life. Honesty promotes
openness, empowers us and enables us to develop consistency in
how we present the facts. Honesty sharpens our perception and
allows us to observe everything around us with clarity.

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 Lesson 2:
The Importance of having a
Honest Behavior

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Five ( 5) Main Reasons Why Honesty is
Important
1) Without honesty there is no foundation for a lasting or enjoyable relationship in
any context, whether that be with a family member, friend or romantic interest.
Honesty is a voice for love that builds trust. Without it, even 'I love you'
becomes a lie in itself and there's no real security in the relationship.

2) People can't read your mind. Being honest doesn't just mean telling the truth
about factual information, but also about the way you're feeling. If you were
hurt by something someone did, they may not even realize unless you are
honest with them about how it affected you.

3) When people don't know the truth, they will try and guess it. That is, not being
honest about something causes people to try and figure out what you're not
saying, or what the truth actually is. This breeds gossip, which can then foster
more lies and deception that other people may mistake as truth. Finally, this
causes many more people to feel hurt and betrayed when the truth is finally
revealed, all of which could be avoided if honesty was applied in the first
instance.
 Five ( 5) Main Reasons Why Honesty is
Important
4) People are usually more hurt by the concealment of the truth than by the
truth itself. Some people lie because they're afraid the truth will get them in
trouble or cause another pain, but more often than not, while the truth may be
painful, it is still usually less painful when delivered honestly than when it is
wrapped in deception. Holding back on it or lying to cover it only causes people
to feel betrayed as well as hurt, and to then question why you weren't just
honest with them in the first place.

5) Being honest improves the relationship and saves us from having to live a lie.
Living a lie is hard work. It means not being yourself or enjoying relationships,
and that is not comfortable for anyone. On the other hand, while being honest
about difficult situations may be uncomfortable at first, if it can be worked
through, the relationship is strengthened, trust is built and love is deepened.

“The best relationships are the ones with honesty. It may mean difficult talks and
awkward confrontations, but being honest also means better relationships with
others and with yourself.”
 Lesson 3:
The Benefits of Honesty in
different Aspects

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 I. BEING HONEST TO OTHERS
1. Figure out why you lie and who you lie to. We've all lied at one time or another, to different
people, to ourselves, and for different reasons. But coming up with a systematic plan for
becoming more honest will be difficult unless you try to define those reasons and those people for
yourself.
2. Anticipate behaviors that will make you feel guilty. To break the chain of embarrassment and
lying, it's important to learn to anticipate things that you'll likely feel guilty about in the future,
and avoid those behaviors. When you lie, you're covering up some uncomfortable truth that's
more easily couched in a lie. You can either get comfortable with the truth, or abandon the
behavior that makes you embarrassed.
3. Stop comparing yourself to others. Sometimes we lie to make ourselves seem bigger and
better than we really are. Because we're constantly competing and comparing ourselves to others,
any inadequacies can be most-easily overcome with a quick and creative lie. If you stop feeling
competitive with others and give yourself the value you deserve, you won't feel the need to lie to
bring yourself up, because you're already up!

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 4. Accept the consequence and decide to face them. Sometimes, it's better to own up to lies, to
deceits, and to prior behaviors that you're embarrassed about, rather than continue weaving an
elaborate web of lies. It can be liberating and extremely healthy to come clean. Even if there will
be some consequences at the end of the admission, it'll be the honest consequences that you
deserve.

5. Do things that make you feel pride. You don't have to lie if you feel good about yourself!
Surround yourself with caring, understanding people who will respect you for who you are. Do
things that give you pleasure and that make you feel proud of yourself.

6. Avoid situations in which you'll have to lie for others. Be wary when someone tells you
something in confidence that you know that you should share with someone else (e.g., knowledge
of a crime, a lie, or a harmful act against another). Hearing such information puts you in a difficult
position, especially when the truth eventually emerges and reveals to the affected person that you
knew all along.

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 7. Distinguish between what the person you are conversing with needs to know and what you
want to say. Telling off a rude roommate, confronting your spouse, or arguing with a teacher can
all seem like moments that require our complete and uncorked honesty, but pulling out the stopper
can be a quick way to sour relationships and say things you don't actually mean. To avoid over-
sharing, try to figure out the difference between things that you need to say because another
person needs to hear it, and things that you want to say to make yourself feel better.

8. Exercise tact. Everyone likes a straight-shooter, but sometimes a straight-shooter's aim can be
off by a couple inches. Consider the effect of your words and learn to rephrase possibly-offensive
or uncomfortable language. Learn to volunteer appropriate opinions

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 II. BEING HONEST WITH YOURSELF
1. Give yourself an objective appraisal. It's important to look in the proverbial mirror every now
and then and take stock of how you feel.
2. Confront the things about yourself that you dislike. A big source of dishonesty in our lives
comes from an unwillingness to confront the things about ourselves that we're ashamed of,
embarrassed about, or just plain disgusted by. Without dwelling on them, try to define them
honestly.
3. Create opportunities for yourself to improve. From your list of strengths and weaknesses, try
to identify specific areas for improvement, and specific ways that you might improve yourself.
4. Take action. When you decide to act, carry through with your decision. Lying to yourself is
easy. It's easy to come up with a couple hundred reasons not to do something you don't want to do.
That's why we let it happen so often! Make it hard on yourself. When you decide to end a
relationship, or start working, start doing it. Make it happen. Now. Don't wait until you come up
with a litany of reasons that it's "not the right time." When you make a decision, set it in motion.

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 III. AVOIDING UNNECESSARY LIES
1. Don't add color to your stories. One all-too-tempting and common little lie is in filling in
extra details to make a story more entertaining.

2. Get creative with "white lies." We've all been there, when someone asked something dreaded,
like: "Do I look fat in this?" or "Is Santa Claus real?" Sometimes, we feel we must lie to make
someone else feel better, or to lessen the blow or some uncomfortable truth, but the choice
between being honest and lying isn't always a choice between A and B.
- Emphasize the positive
- Keep some opinions to yourself
- Deflect the question

3. Stay silent if you need to. If you're in a tense situation, in which getting honest would disrupt
everyone's mood and happiness, it's not necessarily dishonest to remain silent. If you've got the
option of staying out of it, stay out of it. It takes courage to stay silent in an awkward situation
sometimes.
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