Ten Tips To Be More Truthful
By: Barbara A. Lewis
1. Make a commitment to tell the truth.
2. Tell someone about your commitment.
Reflection: When you are always telling the truth, you are a great person. People will trust you more and you will overall feel better about yourself. If you are not honest and truthful then how will you and others feel. It doesn't matter the situation, if you don't tell the truth there will be consequences. When I am told to do something and I dont do it, I know that lying will only make things worse. I want the people in my life to be able to trust me. When you make a commitment to always saying the truth, you will notice how much of a happier person you are. What I will do is say the truth. I will try my hardest to be truthful even if I know there will be consequences. Once I do this I will tell my parents how I will change in regards to telling the truth.
3. Think before you give a dishonest answer, explanation, sarcasm, or reason.
Reflection: Whenever you tell a lie you need to think about all the consequences. Not only this but how do you expect people to trust you. One thing you should never do is lie to your parents. This can cause so many consequences. It is better to tell the truth know matter the situation. When you lie you risk what people think about you, and you risk the kindness of others. If you lie then people will lie to you. Imagine if everyone lied! What kind of world would this be. Whereas if everyone in the world told the truth! What I will do to change is I will make sure I tel;l the truth know matter what it is. I will also think before my actions, and think before i say anything dishonest. I want people to trust me and I want others to always tell me the truth. This will make me a great family member, friend, and acquaintance. 4. Be careful of when and how you use exaggeration, sarcasm, or irony.
Reflection: It is not okay to talk back to anyone. When you use exaggeration, sarcasm or irony, it is bad behavior and you will not be liked by some people. When you do this it can be bad and cause you to loose friends, or even just trust. If you are speaking to an adult and you talk back for the wrong reasons, you can be punished. When I speak to anyone I will not use exaggeration, sarcasm, or irony because this can hurt others and hurt myself. I do not want to loose peoples trust, and I don't want to hurt others either.
5. Be careful not to twist the truth or leave out part of it.
6. Don't indulge in little white lies.
Reflection; Lying is a really irresponsible thing to do, know matter how big or small of a lie. Even a little lie can lead to big consequences. When you are told to do something and you know what you're about to say is a lie, stop and think about the consequences, not only towards other people but yourself to. An example of telling a little white lie is, for example, . If your parents left you at home and asked you to clean your room. They call to check on you and you told them you were done when you weren't. Even if you did do it before they got home, lying is still lying you keep telling lies it will become your lifestyle and you will be a custom to lying. What I will do is not lie to anyone. I will always be responsible and say the truth.
7. Watch out for silent lies.
Reflection: When you know someone is lying you should just either point it out or drop it. When someone lies that's because they are not always truthful, and it will be hard for them to be. For example, when you hear someone talking bad about another person, but they are not directly telling you, it is best to confront them and tell them to stop lying. You wont know if it is a lie for sure, but its not okay to talk bad about anyone. 8. When you catch yourself lying, throw your mouth into reverse.
Reflection:
9. Talk to yourself
Reflection: Lying is wrong and you should never lie. This is a strong statement because your conscious will help with all the decisions you make. If before you lie, you tell yourself in your head that lying is wrong and you rethink what your about to lie about. For example, if you are watching TV, and you have not finished your homework. If your mother asks if you're done with your homework, stop and think about it. If you are about to lie you should ask yourself if it is the right thing to do. Then you should tell then truth and do your homework. 10. Treat yourself when you tell the truth
Each time you tell the truth you should feel good about it. When you are asked a question and tell a lie how do you expect to feel? You will feel like a liar and feel really bad after. But when you are telling the truth you will feel really good about it. Just imagine you are watching one of your friends cheats on a test and the teacher asks if you say the person cheat. Is cheating the right thing to do? No. So what you need to do is tell the truth and make sure you feel good about it. Reward yourself mentally or even materialistically. You can go and get some ice cream and feel good about telling the truth. 
