Someone behind you taps you on the shoulder. “Excuse me,” they say, “You dropped this,” and they hand you the $20 that fell out of your pocket.
What feelings come to mind when something like this happens? Appreciation, faith in humanity, gratitude, trust. When the people in a society practice honesty, they create a culture of cooperation, safety and trust and those are the requirements for growth and happiness.
Honesty and kindness are so important that they form one of the pillars of a healthy society.
Yes, one could lie to make life easier, to make more money, to win the deal, but when people lie, they sacrifice something really important: their integrity. The ability to look at themselves in the mirror every morning and feel good about the kind of human being that they are.
How to Be Honest: Put Yourself In Someone Else’s Shoes
The easiest way to make the right decision in any situation, whether trucking-related or not, is to consider things from the perspective of the person or people affected by your actions.
• Think about how you would feel if things were reversed
• Consider how not being honest may affect your employees, co-workers, friends, family members, or business reputation
• Ask yourself if you yourself would prefer an honest truth that’s a little unpleasant over just being told what you want to hear
More Than Words: Commit to Take Action
Honesty is more than words, it’s also actions. This can involve something as simple as tactfully telling a friend that you think they are on the wrong path, or something as challenging as stepping up when nobody else is willing to do so. It might not always be easy act out of honesty whether in your personal life, when on the road, or while running your business but the long-term pay-offs of honesty outweigh the short-term gains of being dishonest.
Consider How You’ll Feel About Yourself When You’re Honest
Making honesty the best policy don’t just benefit others, it benefits you personally. Of course, nobody’s perfect. But having honesty as your moral compass provides an internal guide you can use for the decisions you’ll need to make on a daily basis. Embracing honesty can also lead to:
• Less overall stress and anxiety
• Better personal and professional relationships
• Improving the actions of others by setting a good example
Honesty is an important value in every industry. It can apply to everything from how honest you are with yourself when you set your monthly goals so you’re not making things too stressful for yourself to how willing you are to be honest and speak up if you see something that’s not in line with industry regulations or standards.
To be fair, there are many factors to consider under different circumstances. Even so, it’s always best to listen to the little voice inside of you that tells you to be honest and to do what you know is right.
At Pay4Freight, honesty is a core value. We are committed to helping you achieve your goals in the trucking industry without misleading you, without telling you what you might want to hear as opposed to what you should hear, without sugar-coating the truth and strong-arming you into contracts that might not be in your best interest.
Explore our website to learn more about our services and resources.
