On Honesty

Polonius:
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

Laertes:
Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.

Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 78–82

But isn't honesty the hardest thing to do sometimes? And I'm not talking about the age old "Does this [article of clothing] make me look fat?" situation. Honesty to one's self is possibly the hardest thing to do, because while we are least forgiving to ourselves, we also make the most excuses for ourselves.

In this quote, Polonius is giving his son a last bit of advice, which is sometimes hard to understand. In this case, he doesn't just mean that his son shouldn't lie to himself, but that he shouldn't do anything to harm his image or his future. This is being "false" to yourself - a self which in some philosophies is perfect, only encased in an imperfect human consciousness.

For those who thing the ancient (and in this case not-so-ancient) texts are dated and irrelevant, consider this: when being interviewed for a job or an internship, it is perfectly legal (and smart) to require access to the applicant's social network page, be it Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, or any other site - or all sites! Some people become upset, saying that their personal life is none of their employer's business. However, take it from someone who has had to work with hungover coworkers who are cranky, lazy, and non-productive - it is the employer's business! And for those who say "but those drunken pictures are during a party, that's not me all the time" well, perhaps. Why, then, do you allow yourself to be portrayed falsely? Why lie to the masses (and to yourself?) about who you are? To be more popular? To be liked? With such fickle things like human taste and preference, it really is important "to thine OWN self be true". I don't think it's a lesson anyone really finishes learning, but hopefully no one stops trying to learn.