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Originally Posted by Plato  Good thread. And the best posts I've read in a while, Remiel.
Is it possible that being honest with ourselves is the foundation of authenticity too? |
I believe so. I like the perspective in "7 habits of highly effective people". Changes need to be internal before they can manifest externally. I have to become honest in order to be honest with out people. Part of that internal aspect is practicing it externally and yet the focus isn't external, it's internal.
I also believe that most character traits can be seen this way. If I want to have (externally) integrity I must first be (internal) full of integrity. If I want to have courage (external) I must first be (internal) courageous.
To me the process of making something internal requires practicing it. Just like steve described with discipline. Its like a muscle and you have to exercise it. I now see all major (and maybe even minor) characteristics as being muscles. If I want to be more honest I practice (exercise) honesty. If I want to be more disciplined I practice (exercise) discipline. If I want to be more courageous I practice (exercise) courage.
Its that measure of taking a trait you want to have and making it internal by practicing it that is important. I don't beat myself up for failing I simply use failure as a progress bar between where I'm at and where I want to be.
Tying all of this back to what you said
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Originally Posted by Plato Is it possible that being honest with ourselves is the foundation of authenticity too? |
YES. Not only that but I see it as being true with every single attribute. I cannot be truely honest with other people if I'm not first honest with myself. If nothing else I'm giving them a fake me because I don't even know the real me. If I don't have integrity with myself how can I possibly have genuinely integrity with others? I can do it for short periods of time much like sprinting (Refer to the discipline series, the section about willpower) and yet if I am not at my core honest, disciplined or I don't have integrity how can I possibly apply those traits long term?
Like I said earlier I believe it's like its a muscle and in order for me to truely be honest I must first exercise it. And the most important person to use that characteristic / attribute with is myself. If I cannot be honest with myself my honesty to others is at best a weak immitation. If I cannot be courageous with myself any external courage is a weak and pale immitation probably more along the lines of bravado. If I cannot have integrity within myself and with myself how can I have integrity with the external things of life?