Sincerity is the act of being genuine with one’s feelings in the usage of verbal and physical communications with others. Here’s a rather vague chart that details how “sincere” I was all week:
Verbal Representations: I failed in a few arenas of sincerity, most notably in the way I communicate verbally with others. When I’m hanging out with a group of friends I tend to employ the usage of sarcasm, mostly to attempt to either be “punny” or embarrass myself. One could make the claim that sarcasm is the direct opposite of sincerity, because it entails one fabricating words to say not what they mean. At the same time, when it came down to either 1on1 or serious conversations, I usually entailed sincerity in meaning what I said. This included letting down others easily, and letting others know how I truly felt about certain situations that entailed in the course of the week. My sisters also came home this week which allowed me the opportunity to be more sincere with them in communicating my feelings than ever before (despite the fact that when growing up, we never really shared our emotions, unless we got mad at each other). With the two interviews I had for two different job positions, I was sincere as much as possible with them, even bringing up my blog as a topic of conversation with the interviewer, and this 2013’s very own “project morality”.
Honesty: Sincerity is not to be mixed up with honesty, nor even remotely connected to “bluntness”. As long as one is being sincere in one’s intentions when communicating with somebody else, a little “white lie” wouldn’t hurt. In being honest with my sisters on Monday I was able to simultaneously cheer one up while making the other one unhappy. We used to write letters to each others and sneak them underneath doors to try to get the “angry” sibling to come out. Though this habit has changed over time, letter-writing still remains one of the more sincere ways for me to communicate away. My representation of myself to others is as genuine as can be as I never shy from my love of Phil’s, Ron Paul, and Glee. It’s in one-on-one conversations that I’m more keen to sharing more personal details about my past and myself in an intimate one on one setting.
Mediums: At the same time, there are a variety of mediums one can use to share one’s sincerity with the world. I shared various Facebook posts on Monday telling people what my true first impression of them was. At the same time, I reactivated my Formspring, in case anyone wanted to ask me any questions. Feel Free. I ended the week being sincere in various online Facebook and AIM conversations, even using a medium I rarely use to communicate with others: PHONECALLING. I called some people I missed from San Diego in an attempt to sincerely update them on my life, and obtain updates from them too. Though it was a little awkward, I do think there is some merit and substance to talking on the phone over merely online communications (especially if they’re far away).
The End Result: I’m not going to change who I am. I am a troll, and I tend to make the most insignificant and useless jokes imaginable. And because they are mostly insincere in nature, sarcasm is directly what results. At the same time, if you know me well enough, or if you communicate with me simply one on one on an important issue, I will be as sincere to you as possible. The only net gain I had this week was in communicating on the phone and attempting to be more sincere with the people that are supposed to be the closest to me, my family. In the end I give myself a C for all my efforts, or lack thereof.
Next week: Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
