In our day and age, many people doubt the value of telling the truth. However, being a traditional virtue, truthfulness continues to be an essential characteristic.

People are unwilling to tell the truth in particular situations because they don’t want to start an argument with their friends, classmates, or co-workers. For instance, even if their friends have a different opinion on a contentious topic, they still choose to keep silent since they don’t know how their friends would react to their statement. Different outlooks on the world, life, and values may destroy relationships.

First, I should concede that hiding the truth can be pretty handy in some situations, but it will ultimately hurt people’s relationships. For example, some parents are used to telling so-called white lies to their children, which they believe can prevent hurting their children’s feelings. However, once the kids find the truth, they may start to be skeptical about their parents’ words. As role models, parents can significantly influence their children. Thus, children might feel that telling a lie is not bad behavior. It’s destructive to the development of their character.

Second, telling the truth is essential to teamwork. Though hiding the truth may avoid an argument, it could cause a huge problem in some situations. Therefore, in the most successful companies, employees won’t be punished if willing to tell the truth and work hard to solve their problems. Ray Dalio, the co-founder of Bridgewater, makes it a rule to record every mistake they have made in a log. Afterward, they will analyze every error with painstaking attention to detail to create a principle. When every employee ultimately accepts the principles intellectually and takes them into practical action, every similar problem can be avoided easily in the future. Through this process of trial and error, Bridgewater becomes one of the most successful hedge fund corporations in the world.

We are not divine; each of us will make mistakes now and then, so why not tell the truth?