Beginning January 26, 2009, we conducted a 30-day experiment on Radical Honest: Being honest regardless of the consequences. In our experiment, we had two variables and one control.
I participated as a “truth teller.”
The History:
So, Radical Honesty. A radical concept. If you want to know where I got my “inspiration” (or flash of insanity, you might say) check out http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707. And also RadicalHonesty.com
My goal: 30 days of radical honesty. Telling the truth, no matter what, removing the filter between my brain and my mouth in some respects. Kind whenever possible, but honest nonetheless. This exercise will have two foreseeable consequences/results: 1) Possibly changing relationships around me. 2) Preventing me from doing things that I don’t want to tell the truth about.
The experimentors vowed to, in the following 30 days, respond to every situation or conversation with complete honesty, regardless of the consequences to that honesty. We blogged about what happened every day. The control continued in her life as normal, however, she blogged everyday on the lies that she told out of convenience, fear or avoidance.
We tracked our truths and lies so that we, at the end of 30 days, could see whether
honesty truly IS the best policy!
