Honesty Per Square Foot

By Jyoti Aggarwal. Jyoti, 24, is a student of leadership studies at the University of Lynchburg. She lives in Virginia, USA. Please read her article and leave your thoughts and comments below.

“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.” – Michel Foucault.

I was a studious and straightforward girl when I came to the USA. However, I realised that I am a very honest person when I came here. I started my studies of science education in environmental sciences here in the states. Since three years of coming here, I have realised that it is up to you what you want to be wherever you go.

I have seen three situations in my life which I believe everyone should at least think about (if they do not face it). These situations are having no money, having just enough money, and have more than enough money in your life. In all these three conditions, there is only one thing which is common. And that is you. In all these three situations of life, I did not change my aim of life. Despite this, I realised that not having money is not a big deal but having satisfaction and aim in life is important. This is what my dad says “Never chase money”. I do not live for money but I think that money is important to survive and I respect that. But to change yourself to get money is not satisfying.

It is not necessary to change yourself according to the situations. However, it depends on the work you are getting involved in. I think that there are four cases which could help us understand these situations.

1. If you are loving your work – You do not have to change yourself in this situation. Your personality automatically fits with the people you are working with and you know what you are getting into.

2. You are confident in the field you are going into but did not like the working environment and people. Here, it is up to you to figure out how to deal with people who are very different from you (It is an art) OR leave.

3. You have started doing the work you never wanted to do but actually liked the people and tasks. You would like to stay at work by hopefully not changing yourself for the situation.

4. Finally, you started a work with no interest and do not like it either. Good luck here.

Among all these situations, there is one thing common. This is again you. People in most cases like to have a double-sided life or you can say put on a mask for work but they are very different from inside. For example, people tend to misuse honest behaviour of a person working with them. Now, it is up to that person to either keep his honesty or leave it. But it is definitely a main interest to know what this person chooses. If a person chooses to not being honest, and change his personality, it would be considered a compromise. In this situation, he has less chances to succeed in life, because people whom he works with would superimpose their ideas on him and since he decided not to be himself anymore, he will be less likely to make decisions since he has lost his confidence. This example teaches us a very interesting fact about people in general. People in current time are very much used to people who lie and see everyone with a sight of a deceit. This is one of the reasons that an honest person chooses not to be honest anymore.

If on the other hand, this person chooses to be honest, people are going to appreciate his honesty. But this person would be in trouble because of being truthful all the time. It is because people who are honest are basically trouble makers for others.

Moral of the story is to be honest per square foot!

26 comments on “Honesty Per Square Foot

  1. Nahid Khan on

    What I learned after reading this article is that you will have people with different personalities in your life. Some of them may be wishing for your good but from inside, they might be struggling with their own situations too and they are still with you. I think in this case, someone needs to be open with them and respect what they do for you. They are not stealing your honesty but helping you out to maintain your honesty by standing with tough circumstances.
    Very nice. Good job and good luck for more articles!

    Reply
    • Jyoti Aggarwal on

      Thanks for reading the story and commenting. It was just an example of a person who is honest. This example does not apply to talk about my personality. But I understand your point. Thanks for your input. Appreciate your reading it.

      Reply
    • LimmyHealth on

      This was a good read, most of life for many is about survival which is innate. No one should have to change who they are to fit a particular situation, although people need to be flexible enough to adapt to situations, environments and cultures to succeed most of the time. And being flexible doing that should never take away ones honesty, because if you do you are no longer living your truth. What is life if you live a lie?!

      Reply
  2. Preeti Sharma on

    It is an amazing article. It talks about reality of life. Awesome work. You deserve to win this. You are going to be a wonderful writer.

    Reply
  3. Sarah Mock on

    Thank you so much for sharing these insights and reflections. These are really great points and a good lesson for us all.

    Reply
  4. Bani Roy on

    Thought-provoking article! You have described certain situations and personalities according to your understanding and experience. Readers are free to interpret them as they choose. The article forces the readers to be analytical whether they agree or disagree with the writer. Good work.

    Reply

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