“Honesty is the best policy” is a saying that is spoken more often than practiced, and when it’s practiced, it can bring about negative reactions, especially in the world of dating. Ladies, how often have you been involved in a relationship, or wanted to be with someone, and the one you’re involved with or desire tells you that they’re not ready for a committed relationship? Or better yet, how many of you are involved in a committed relationship and your mate is honest with you about everything, if at times brutally honest? How do you react to his honesty? Do you appreciate it, or do you resent it?
One character trait many women desire the most in a man is honesty, but more often than not, when a man is honest to the core with a woman she either reacts negatively towards it or doesn’t know how to handle it. Why? Because sometimes a man’s honesty does not align with what we as women want to hear according to our own individual plans for a relationship.
While we all want our love interest to be straightforward and upfront with us, the fact of the matter is that most people really can’t handle the unbridled truth, no matter how much they say they want it. And to be perfectly honest, learning to accept the truth is not an easy thing to do. So how does one gracefully embrace candidness from their mate? By keeping these things in mind:
Accept what your mate is saying to you. By accepting your significant other’s openness with you and not always freaking out, you are demonstrating your willingness to make the relationship work and you are taking them for who they are. By accepting what your mate is saying instead of battling them at every turn doesn’t necessarily mean that you agree with what they want or will go along with any ol’ thing. It it simply means that you’ve embraced their honesty.
Make a decision of whether or not you want to remain in the relationship or the situation. If your mate or love interest has laid all cards on the table and they’ve been open about everything they want and don’t want want from you when it comes to a relationship, you have the choice of staying around or walking away. I know this may seem like the obvious move, but many people fail to exercise their option to leave. Why? Because they’re solely focused on what they want from the one person they want to be with, even if what the other person wants isn’t the same thing.
Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself why you have difficulty accepting your mate’s honesty and reflect on your answers. Not only that, but ask yourself if you have issues with being honest when it comes to matters of the heart, because without realizing it, many people don’t receive honesty well because they don’t practice giving it… to themselves or others.
Honesty should always be appreciated because it builds trust within the relationship. While it might be hard to hear the truth when what you want or hoped for is different, it’s important to accept it and move forward. Do you appreciate your man being open with you?
Liz Lampkin is the Author of Are You a Reflection of the Man You Pray For? Follow her on Twitter @Liz_Lampkin
