Thursday, May 01, 2025
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Honesty

"Instead of putting the money in his pocket, the gentleman looked around to see if anyone might have lost the money. He was still looking around when I entered the store. A few minutes after I entered the store an announcement was made over the loud speaker – 'If anyone lost some money would they please come to the courtesy counter'."
 
  
 

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Honesty Is The Best Policy: 

 

Envision All You Can Achieve

 

 
Edward F. Gibbons, Jr., Ph.D. 
 
 
A few months ago I had just parked my car and I was about to walk into a store when I noticed a young man stoop down and pick up a clip that contained money. I could see that the clip of money contained several twenty dollar bills and a number of other bills. I was not sure how much money he found, but it had to be a considerable amount. What happened next took me totally by surprise. Instead of putting the money in his pocket, the gentleman looked around to see if anyone might have lost the money. He was still looking around when I entered the store. A few minutes after I entered the store an announcement was made over the loud speaker – “If anyone lost some money would they please come to the courtesy counter.” Out of curiosity, I went over to the courtesy counter to see if the young man had gone into the store to find the owner of the clip of money. My suspicions were confirmed! The young man had walked into the store in an extraordinary attempt to locate the owner of the money.
 
I waited by the courtesy counter to observe what would happen after the announcement was made over the loud speaker. As expected, a number of people came to the courtesy counter to claim the lost money. In every case when they were asked how much money they lost, they could not state the correct amount. A second announcement went over the loud speaker and shortly thereafter an elderly lady walking with a cane came to the counter. She explained to the clerk that she had dropped the money when she had almost lost her balance as she stepped onto the curb. She told the clerk that she had just cashed her social security check and she was going to do her shopping for the next couple of weeks. She correctly stated the amount of money that was lost, and the clerk gave her the money. The elderly lady then turned to the young man and thanked him for being honest, and offered to give him a reward. The young man graciously declined the reward. He shook the lady’s hand and went about his business shopping in the store.
 
After I left the store and was driving home I reflected on what took place earlier that day. I wondered what I would have done if I was that young man? Would I have taken the money, put it in my pocket and walked away? Or, would I have made a sincere effort to find the owner of the money? I would like to think that I would have made the same decision as the young man.
 
When most of us reflect on the word honesty we think about not stealing, being fair in our dealings with other people, returning what we found to the rightful owner, giving a solid day’s work for a salary, and being truthful. These are qualities that should be a part of our everyday lives. In addition, we expect other people to be as honest with us and we are with them. We would like other people to treat us the same way the young man treated the elderly lady.
 
However, one aspect of honesty that we may not think about is the way we treat ourselves.   Are we honest about our true value and all that we can contribute to our families, friends, colleagues and society?   Too frequently we are not honest with ourselves; we sell ourselves short.    We don’t give ourselves credit for what we have achieved and don’t fully envision what we can achieve. Consider the following situations.
 
 
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Because of past academic experiences, a student does not believe s/he can get an “A” in a course. As a consequence of this preconception, the student does not study hard enough to achieve an “A” and ends up getting a “C” in the course. 
 
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An employer has just announced a position opening with a six-figure salary. An employee always wanted that position, but because of a bad evaluation from a past supervisor, the employee does not feel qualified for the position. Rather than risk the rejection of not being selected for the position, the employee takes the “safe” route and does not apply for the job.
 
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An individual is at a social event and sees someone that s/he would like to meet. The individual, however, does not believe that what s/he has to say or contribute would not be of interest to the person. As a consequence, the individual leaves the social event without having met the person.
 
 

Every time we are not honest about our abilities and we “sell ourselves short” not only do we lose out, but so do the people we interact with in our daily lives. We have an ethical and moral responsibility to be honest with ourselves and to achieve at the highest level possible.   We are being dishonest with ourselves when we either minimally try or don’t try at all. Conversely, we are being honest with ourselves when we give a task our full effort; regardless of the outcome.

Beginning today, be honest with yourself and take a personal inventory of all you have to offer other people in your life and to society. Realize that no matter what your current situation, you have much to offer and that your contributions matter. Feel the joy that you can experience and bring to the lives of others when you share with them the abundance that is the result of your talents.  Take a lesson from the young man you went to extraordinary efforts to return the lost money to the elderly lady. Your daily actions do matter. Be 100% honest with yourself and acknowledge that who you are and what you say and do in your daily life does matter. The World can be a better and richer place because you were honest with yourself and aspired to be all that you can be.
  

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 Honesty Links
 
The following is a list of links to websites devoted to Honesty.
 
Honesty and Integrity - What Does This Mean To You?
 
 
Importance of Honesty
 
The Art of Honesty 
 
Poems About Honesty 
 
Honesty Quotes   
 
 
 
 
  

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Copyright 2015 by Rockford Kingsley Ltd.