8 Problems Only Brutally Honest People Understand

Honesty is always the best policy. Our moms, it turns out, were very much onto something with that one. It was good ol' Billy Bob Shakespeare who I believe can be quoted as saying in one of his great works, "Daaaayum, lying tho!" The bard may be gone (unless there is a very cool zombie uprising happening in the UK and no one has clued me in just yet) but the sentiment lives on: Things get too complicated when you lie. Who needs the stress of remembering eight million different versions of one story when you could just bore everyone with the truth?

But there's being honest in the good way, and then taking honesty to the extreme. That last one? That's where it gets slightly more problematic. We all have that friend (or are that friend) who cannot tell even the tiniest white lie. If their friend gets a heinous haircut, she won't hold back. A boyfriend or girlfriend being shady? Don't count on this teller of truths to give you anything but the cold, hard facts. Often being this honest is under-appreciated, in my humble estimation. If it weren't for those of their ilk, we'd all walk around in deluded clouds of self-absorption and never get anything done. We'd also probably look terrible while we did it. But that doesn't mean it's easy to be so candid all the time. Here are 8 problems only the brutally honest can understand:

1. No One Appreciates Your Skills

Your friends don't even ask you what you think about their outfits anymore – because you're "too honest". Is it a crime that you're going to keep them from looking like a fool out in the streets? They're failing to realize that being so honest means that when their outfit choices DO hit the nail on the head, you're totally going to tell them that too.

2. The Dread Of Meeting Your S.O.'s Parents

You aren't nervous about meeting your significant other's parents – you're nervous about what will come out of your mouth when you sit down with them. You know you're awesome, and you and your person are vanilla, but something about meeting people for the first time brings out your honesty streak. It's only a matter of time before you tell them about the time you were detained for indecent exposure and then no one is happy.

3. Your Fear Of Nice, Attentive Waitstaff

You'd rather have a mildly rude waiter than one who is going to be sugar and honey and ask you stuff like, "How was your food?" Because what if you don't like it? You aren't going to lie, you're going to tell them the truth, and then you're going to have to desperately recalibrate as you watch their face go from sweet to crestfallen all because your gnocchi were too soggy.

4. Parties Are Awful

Why can't you just do what other people do at parties? If it's bad, stay for the bare minimum, smile politely, and leave as quickly as you can. If it's fun, hang out, meet new people and shake your booty. It shouldn't be that hard. Instead, at terrible parties, your find yourself audibly reflecting on just why it's the worst. When it's awesome you can't keep that under your hat either: "I so didn't think this party was going to be fun!" Good job, jerk.

5. You're Even Honest With Yourself

Just because you're all about dishing out the honesty to others, that doesn't mean you think you live in a tower of impenetrable awesomeness. But that's not quite true. Even you are not immune to your own truth lasers: When you mess up or misstep, nobody is harder on you about it than you are.

6. You're a Great Mediator

Because you stand for truth and justice (and the American way, but only if you are Superman), the super honest people of the world are really great at helping solve interpersonal problems and crises. They take one side, and one side only: the truth's. They are willing to sit and hash everything out until everyone is on the same side. They don't care about hurt feelings, they care about clarity and dammit they will get it!

7. It Makes You Really Good at Your Job

With a passion for honesty, comes attention to detail and super-high standards when it comes to work. The brutally honest are great leaders, and rise quickly through the ranks because they aren't afraid to be all "this is the worst idea I have ever heard."

8. It Isn't Always Easy

Although those of us who are extreme in our honesty might seem like tough, no-nonsense cookies (and we are to some extent), being this way isn't simply a matter of how we were born (sorry, Lady Gaga). It's a choice, every single time, and it isn't always the easiest one to make. We could lie to our boss and say we were working from home in the morning, but we tell the truth: We overslept AND also stopped for coffee and a croissant on the way in. But that doesn't mean we don't get nervous admitting it.

Images: Wikimedia Commons; Giphy(4)