Question One: Is it the Truth?
Most of us feel that we’re honest. We don’t lie, we don’t cheat, and if you asked, we’d say we tell the truth as a matter of course.
But the first question of the Four-Way Test asks for something harder than not lying.
Is it the truth? Not just “Did I say anything I knew to be false,” but “Did I check before I passed info along to be sure it’s accurate? Did I admit the parts I wasn’t sure about? Did I resist the urge to enhance the story a little because it sounded better that way?”
That’s a higher bar. Opinions seem to travel faster than facts these days, and an incorrect fact or rumor can circle the globe before anyone thinks to verify it. It’s never been easier to be wrong while being confident about your opinion.
Travel provides an example. Whatever you “knew” about a place before you arrived rarely survives the first week there. As Global Travelers, we meet people whose lives don’t match our assumptions at all. And the only proper response is to listen, ask questions, and be willing to be corrected. That is seeking the truth.
Here’s a challenge for the next two weeks:
Before you speak, post, hit send, or make a decision that matters, pause and ask yourself a few things:
- Do I actually know this is true, or am I assuming?
- Am I telling the whole story, or just the part that supports my view?
- If I turned out to be wrong, would I admit it?
The answers might not always be comfortable. They’re not meant to be. But that discomfort is usually where integrity starts.
So, for the next two weeks, choose one interaction each day where you pause before speaking and ask yourself: Is it the truth?
You may be surprised how often that one small question changes what you end up saying, or whether you speak at all.