Trustworthy Part 2: Tell the truth
The truth shall set you free
For the next few months, our writing team will be exploring the twelve points of the Scout Law. You can find the original list on this great eBook copy of the 1911 edition of the Boy Scout Handbook.
Why talk about Scouting principles these days? Isn’t that just for 10 year olds in tan shirts? Check out the first post in this series for why we’re doing this.
Quick trail snacks
Our mission is entirely reader-supported. Subscribe and share it with your friends and family!
Check out our sponsors and support at the bottom of the post. Every little bit helps us keep writing and keeps the coffee flowing!
Join the reader Chat and get in on the conversation!
Tell the Truth
Many times in life, we can’t handle the truth; either in giving it, or receiving it.
We agree to more than we could possibly actually do.
We tell little white lies to avoid inconvenience or conflict.
We omit key details to make ourselves look better.
Take an honest look at your past week. How many times have you said or thought things like:
“They’ll never find out.”
“It’s not entirely true, but it’s not entirely wrong either.”
“Just one more time wouldn’t hurt.”
It goes on and on.
I’m suggesting a better way for all of us, myself included.
That’s one of the reasons I started this series: to give myself a good, hard look in the mirror and become the kind of man who is trustworthy in all his dealings.
Where does it start?
Be honest about your capacity and capabilities. What do you actually have the knowledge, skills, and experience to do? That’s your true capability.
What do you really have the time and attention for? That’s your true capacity.
The truth is, that most of us are operating well outside our actual capacity and capabilities, and we need to recognize that. It’s okay to push ourselves occasionally, but the best teams in the world manage their teams’ capacity to 80-85%.
Your ability to be trustworthy depends on your honor, and your ability to hold the responsibilities that you have committed to.
Trustworthiness = Honor + Responsibility
Keep your promises
Responsibility starts with keeping your promises and being careful with the ones that you make. Since you are becoming the kind of person who keeps their word, you’d better be stingy with whom you give your word!
Whenever you want to commit to something or do something for someone ask yourself:
Do I know why this is important? What bad thing will happen if this isn’t done?
Do I know all the steps to complete this? Is there a standard I have to meet?
Do I have the capability and capacity to meet that standard?
Do I want to commit to this? Can I commit to it?
If you haven’t answered those four questions, good luck following through on your word.
How many times has someone failed to do something you asked them to do because they missed one of these things?
Your child doesn’t do the dishes because they can’t reach the faucet without a stool.
Your employee doesn’t turn in their report on time because you’ve given them three projects to do at once with deadlines stacked on top of each other.
Your manager doesn’t release the funding you need for your project because you failed to explain to them why it’s important to them.
You don’t meet your own New Year’s resolution to become healthier because you didn’t account for the time and energy it would take to meet that goal consistently.
These things show up everywhere!
Be the kind of person others can depend on
This is why it’s so important to start with ‘Trustworthy’ as we focus on the Scouting principles for the next few months.
If you aren’t trustworthy, what’s the point of being loyal, friendly, or all the rest?
Each of the other points of the Scout Law depends on this one.
Practical application/exercises
So what can we do about this? Here are a couple of suggestions for how to begin to improve your honor and trustworthiness:
Write down everything that you’ve committed to on a sheet of paper. Personal, family, and professional. All of it. Ask yourself: which of these is critical that I do it? How am I doing on that one?
Look at your list. Are there any commitments you’ve made that you can stop doing, or renegotiate to free up capacity for ones that you need to improve?
When a new opportunity to commit to something comes in, ask yourself the four questions:
Do I know why this is important? What bad thing will happen if this isn’t done?
Do I know all the steps to complete this? Is there a standard I have to meet?
Do I have the capability and capacity to meet that standard?
Do I want to commit to this? Can I commit to it?
Sponsored by GORUCK
Dan Zehner is a dad and an adventurer at heart. For years, he’s used GORUCK gear to become more physically fit and be better prepared. They’ve been around for over 10 years, and he’s been using their packs for the past eight. Their gear is made to stand up to the rigors of life, made in the USA, and designed by former Special Forces soldiers.
His go-to training setup is the Rucker and a Ruck Plate. For every day, he loves the Heritage GR1.
Using links to outfit yourself for adventure helps keep the lights on and the coffee flowing around here for the team. Thank you!
Subscribe to get the latest from the trail ahead! If you would like to submit a piece for the community, join Substack and email me We’ll get you added to the crew!
Supporting Scouting
Want to support the Scouting mission? Consider donating to your local Scouting Council. The Scouts are funded by folks just like you and need all the support we can give. Find your local Council here!
The way you defined capacity and capability = gold.
Loved the article! Honesty can be both the weapon of destruction and the weapon of healing. Depends on how you say it.