June 19: #15 Liar Liar Day (total unfiltered honesty)

Phil: Bruce texted me saying pretty much how I feel about this one. At first you picture it to end up being this big deal where you say things you never normally say. But I feel like I’ve generally made a habit of speaking my mind. I said the same thing last year on this challenge. Sure, this challenge helped me commit harder to saying some of the things that were on my mind with a bit less hesitation and sugar-coating. That was actually helpful and a good reminder to just say what you need to say and clean your side of the street and let the pieces fall where they may.

Bruce: This day went off without a hitch. Both this year and last I anticipated “liar liar day” to be rife with exposés among people longstanding and altercations from people I’ve offended with my honesty and big dynamic changes in friendships or relationships on account of damning truths unearthed. It turns out none of these things is real just yet! The most significant moment in the day relevant to this challenge was when I spent a few hours with a friend and was -more than usual-entirely transparent when we were catching up which lead to a more psychologically insightful and emotionally fulfilling conversation. I also had an email exchange with a collaborative partner and just found that my straightforward honesty was much more productive and refreshingly easy to manage as opposed to trying to mitigate any uncomfortable moments by sugar coating. Lessons learned!

Tomorrow's challenge: #27 No Complaining Day