Radical Honesty
I can't remember when I first heard about the concept of Radical Honesty, but it interested me a lot given that I take almost the opposite stance. Radical Honesty is a self help technique based on the premise that all our anxieties are derived from lying, or not speaking our mind. By speaking your mind at all times, including when it is incredibly uncomfortable to do so, the idea is that you will be freed from these anxieties and ultimately live a happier life. This is especially interesting to me, given both my propensity to self-censor and my frequent trouble with anxiety.Sadly, in reality it seems like the Radical Honesty movement is essentially a cult, and its founder certainly does not give off the impression of someone wholly free from anxiety - instead, he just seems like a pretty weird dude. So I'm not going to join the movement, but could I try and practice some of what it preaches?
Speaking your mind and not lying might not seem like such a revolutionary idea to some people. But for me, I almost never say what's actually on my mind - preferring to privately journal it or similar - unless under relatively intense questioning from a good friend. And even then, there are plenty of things I wouldn't tell them. It's not for lack of wanting to, I am simply scared of how they'd react, and scared of being vulnerable. There are even plenty of things I do want to talk about with someone, I simply don't feel that I can. So, is Radical Honesty the answer?
In practice, I am pretty sure Radical Honesty is definitely not the answer. I have no desire to tell people I find them unattractive, annoying or unintelligent when I know I am little better myself, if at all. But maybe Radicalish Honesty could work for me. I still filter out a lot of my judgments about people when I talk, but I always say exactly however I feel about me. But then I'm worried people will get sick of my low self-esteem whining, and I wouldn't blame them. Perhaps I will just be Radically Honest in this blog instead?