Truth Hurts?

A perplexing question is to decide if you really want the truth or not. If you could have the truth, would you really want it? To bring this home, let me throw a few examples out there.

1. If you could know right now if there really was a “God” would you want the answer?
2. If you could know exactly how others see you, would you want to know?
3. If you could discover your greatest weaknesses, and have them laid bare right before you, would you do it?
4. If you could understand just what impact, good or bad, you have had on others would you want to know?
5. If you could know just exactly what your peers, management, friends, family think of your performance as a person would you ask?

Now before you scream yes! Maybe you should stop and ponder for a minute. The truth can really hurt. I mean REALLY hurt.

Here is the deal. You CAN know the truth for most of these questions and others, but you have to be willing to be vulnerable and that is the rub. We all avoid the truth, precisely because it is painful. We brush up against it and think to ourselves, ouch, that kinda hurts and then we withdraw back to our safety net and comfort ourselves.

BTW, I know this because I am absolutely guilty as charged. I THINK that I want the truth and say that out loud, but in reality I run from the truth mostly because I do not want to deal with the pain. Now, sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by the truth. I get some warm and fuzzys and in that moment I bask in my glory and pat myself on the back for embracing truth. However, most of the time it just freaking hurts to know the reality of the situation and my shortcomings.

However, before we give up in despair and all crawl back in our holes, I have to say this. When the truth is laid bare before me I have two choices. 1. I can run away. 2. I can face it and deal with it. The times that I have chosen #2 have been the greatest development experiences in my life. I remember them all vividly.

I am starting to firmly believe that we CAN know the truth in all things, but we have to be willing to ask and even more importantly willing to face the truth when we get it. This is how we grow, this is how we improve, this is how progress is made. I do not like it, but this is just true. Sorry, Truth Hurts.

Guy Reams