"You Can't Handle The Truth"

I remember reading a series of books called The Berenstain Bears when my two wonderful children Erynn and Ryan were young. There was Papa and Mama bear, Brother and Sister bear and Little Honey came along after our kids were older. One of my favorite stories was The Berenstain Bears and the Truth. While Mama and Papa bear are gone there is an accident. A lamp is broken and both kids make up this outlandish story as to what happened to the broken lamp thinking Mama bear was going to believe it. It's not until the end of the book that the two kids finally come clean and confess the truth. The story ends with Mama bear saying something like, 'trust is not something easily put back together.'

And then there is scene from the movie A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise yells, "I want the truth!"  To which Jack Nicholson yells back, "you can't handle the truth!"

In my work during this recession I have heard countless individuals say to me in frustration, "I just wish they would be honest with me and tell me what they're thinking. Just tell me the truth."  Just today I read a survey where employees were asked: "What did executives need to develop the most during this time of recession and recovery?" The number one answer was trust.

Question: What do trust and truth have in common? I would be interested in your answer but here's mine:  How do you develop trust? You tell the truth.  Even if you think they 'can't handle the truth'. Because once you have not told them the truth, trust is something not easily put back together.

Finally I ran across this video of how to get people to exercise. For those of you who know me, you know I exercise and encourage others to do the same. This is one way to get people to enjoy it. It's only two minutes long.  I think you'll be glad you watched it.

 

 

Posted on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by Ron Beasley filed under

3 comments (Add your own)

1. Kelly North wrote:
I believe people don’t tell the truth because of fear; fear of retaliation, fear of losing credibility, fear of how they will appear, fear of losing the possibility of being promotable, fear that people will see them for what they really are and not telling the truth because they think the person can’t handle it is a cop out, self protection: there are some I don’t trust, above and below me, because they were not truthful and they won’t get my trust until they prove themselves truthful over a period of time. Trust is easy to lose and hard to gain back.

November 4, 2009 @ 11:17 AM

2. Carol Peddy wrote:
Ron: Loved this!!!! You know how I feel about people telling the truth. Truth goes so much further than lies, denial, avoiding and evading. I truly believe that truth can be told in a loving, nuturing manner. I also believe that we all would prefer to hear the truth. As the old saying goes..."It is not what you say, it is how you say it".

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Carol

By the way, Berenstein Bears are still mine and my kiddos favorites books to read.

November 5, 2009 @ 11:32 AM

3. dr. ron wrote:
Good comment Kelly. So true. Fear. Fear of being found out, fear of being authentic, etc. Fear drives many of us into a corner and we make decisions on the present and not thinking with proper perspective.

Carol,
Absolutely 'the truth' when said in an appropriate way gets the message across so much better. Often times we think we can't tell someone the truth because we will hurt their feelings when more often because we didn't tell the truth, not only are feelings hurt but trust and respect are lost.

November 5, 2009 @ 12:59 PM

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