“I probably read and didn’t reply.”
Now, think about it: there are so many ways she could’ve responded.
She could’ve been unnecessarily apologetic, writing, “I am so sorry! I can’t believe I missed this.” Or she could’ve offered an excuse: “I meant to respond but I got really busy, lost track of time, etc.” Or she could’ve even lied a little bit: “I had a response typed up here, but it looks like it never
sent!”
But instead, she said what actually happened: “I probably read and didn’t reply.”
This is an example of a very
small interaction that’s actually very meaningful. I respect this friend immensely, and she is someone I genuinely look to for advice in my personal and professional life. The reason I respect her so much is because she’s always honest and lives her life (and runs her company) in alignment with being a person of high integrity.
She’s a friend who will patiently hear you out and say, “Let me offer you a different perspective…”
And this text message came at the perfect time because I had just listened to a Tim Ferriss podcast episode with Oprah’s life coach Martha Beck.
Beck has been called “the best-known life coach in America.” She holds three Harvard degrees in social science and has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles.
In the podcast episode, Beck shares the shocking results of what happened when she went an entire year without lying. As she realized her whole life was built on a lie, she lost her family of origin, her religion, her job, and her marriage.
“Don’t tell a single
lie, not to anyone for any reason, and pretty soon every relationship you have, professional or personal where there’s any level of secrecy or untruth begins to fall apart and then it starts to explode,” she says. “And that’s what happened to me. I just kept seeing what I believed until I realized I’m not Mormon. I don’t believe in it at all...read more
