14 signs you’re an honest person who always speaks from the heart

It’s refreshing to spend time with someone who is honest and authentic.

You know where you stand, and what you see is what you get.

I don’t know about you, but I prefer hanging out with these kinds of people.

I want to know the truth, even if it is sometimes hard to hear.

Truth-telling is especially important in today’s society where so many people are trying to be something they’re not.

The question is, are you an honest and authentic person?

In this article, I’m going to go through 14 traits of an honest and authentic person who always speaks from the heart.

Let’s go.

1. You’re not concerned with popularity contests

You see it time and time again. People trying to be someone they’re not so that other people will like them.

The problem is, they’re behaving for other people rather than themselves.

But if you don’t care what other people think of you, and you don’t care if you’re popular or not, then you’re probably an honest person.

This is because you don’t change yourself in order to impress others.

You come as you are, and if other people don’t like it, well, then that’s their problem.

Marianne Williamson says it best:

“A meaningful life is not a popularity contest. Do what in your heart you believe to be the right thing, and you may or may not get immediate approval from the world. Do it anyway.”

2. You stand up for your beliefs

An honest person isn’t on the lookout for arguments, but they also aren’t afraid to say what they think.

A hallmark trait of an honest person is to express their opinions even when their beliefs are against the majority.

They don’t express their opinion rudely, or with the intention of annoying others, but they simply state their opinions in a calm and matter-of-fact way.

While some people who can’t think outside of the status quo find this intimidating, most people respect honesty and the ability of someone to speak from the heart.

According to Herbie Hancock, you’re a strong human being if you stay true to yourself and stand up for what you believe in:

“The strongest thing that any human being has going is their own integrity and their own heart. As soon as you start veering away from that, the solidity that you need in order to be able to stand up for what you believe in and deliver what’s really inside, it’s just not going to be there.”

3. You’re thick-skinned

Being honest isn’t easy. Not everyone loves hearing the truth, and when you speak fresh doses of reality, some people are going to react badly to you.

This is why it takes courage to be an honest person.

After all, insecure small-minded people are offended when someone speaks the truth, so a truly honest person needs to be prepared that not everyone will like them.

According to Barbara De Angelis, speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict, is a hallmark of a person with integrity:

“Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.”

4. You have close friendships

Being an honest and authentic person means you have rich, meaningful friendships.

After all, you express your feelings honestly and this means that you cut through the small-talk crap.

You don’t dance around issues. You have meaningful conversations all the time with your friends about topics that actually matter.

Your friends feel secure in your friendship as well, because they know that an honest friend won’t complain about them behind their back, and will face issues head-on.

5. You are trusted by your peers

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters” – Albert Einstein

It’s hard to trust someone who is fake. You don’t know who they really are and they can turn on you at a moment’s notice.

But with an honest person, you can always believe what they’re saying.

You can count on them for true, objective advice.

While fake people will lie and tell you what you want to hear, an honest person expresses how it really is without sugar coating the truth.

This can be immediately difficult for someone to hear, but it’s almost always better for them in the long run.

6. You have a calm and consistent voice tone

Have you ever noticed with someone who is manipulative or condescending that they raise their tone of voice throughout a conversation?

This is a dead giveaway that they’re not entirely genuine.

But an honest person doesn’t have any hidden agendas, so they maintain a calm and consistent voice town.

You’re not hiding anything so you’re not afraid of what people might ask you.

You are who you are and there is nothing to hide.

7. You wear your heart on your sleeve

A big sign of an honest person is your ability to wear your heart on your sleeve.

Nothing stops you from expressing your feeling and what you’re thinking.

You get straight to the point and risk it all in a completely authentic way.

Sometimes it can come back to bite you, but no one can ever knock you for not being true to yourself.

You’re proud of who you are and you’re not afraid to show it.

8. You aren’t ashamed of who you are

There’s nothing to hide behind if you have a transparent personality. That may sound scary, but when you’ve got nothing to hide, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

In other words, you aren’t ashamed of who you are. Yeah, you have problems, sure you’ve made mistakes, but that doesn’t stop you from having a personality that people can see immediately.

You are who you are. You haven’t got any secret agendas.

You accept yourself for all that you’ve become.

It’s a big reason why you have an honest personality. It’s one of your biggest strengths, don’t be afraid to play into it (and help others embrace who they really are).

9. You connect with people on a deeper level

Because you’re not fake and you have no ulterior motives, people feel comfortable in your presence.

You’re as genuine as they come, and that makes people feel more accepted and valued.

You’re not condescending or trying to make others feel inferior to you, you treat everyone as equal because an honest person sees the authentic side of everyone.

When you’re being your true self, you’re able to easily connect with the genuine side of everybody else.

Virginia Woolf said it best:

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.”

10. You’re always accepting of other people

Here’s the thing: acceptance leads to honesty.

Sometimes it can be hard to allow ourselves to show who we really are. It often takes an environment, a person, or an upbringing of safety for someone to reveal their inner self.

People with honest personalities may not always have been that way.

They could owe their honesty and confidence to a single person, an environment, something they’ve read, heard, or anything similar.

In other words, these kinds of people are all about acceptance.

Allowing people to express themselves and feel safe about it leads to self-confidence and transparency.

So if you are accepting of other people, genuinely interested in finding out who they are deep inside, you’re probably an honest person yourself.

11. Honest people struggle with small-talk

Being honest with yourself and others allows you to cut through all the superficial conversation.

This is why you find small-talk really boring and unnecessary.

After all, when someone says “I’m good” it lacks so much meaning that it really shouldn’t be said.

Small-talk only serves to reinforce the robotic robots that most people have become.

You want others to be honest just like you. You want to know the purpose behind someone’s life and why they get up in the morning.

You don’t want to talk about the weather. You’re an authentic person and in your eyes, small talk can be a little inauthentic for your liking.

12. Action is what matters to you

“To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.” – Mahatma Gandhi

We’ve all met them before. The smooth talker who can say all the right things at the right time.

The problem?

They’re not being honest with their words and they rarely back it up with action.

This is especially the case with the rise of the Internet and social media. You can appear however you want without backing up the results.

These superficial words won’t cut it for you. An honest person understands that the only thing that matters is action and results.

13. You let your emotions come as they are

Being a completely authentic and honest person means that you don’t shy away from your feelings and emotions.

Your feelings are important to you, and that’s why you’re not afraid to express them.

Sometimes you can see the emotions on your face because your honest personality means you just can’t hide it.

14. You take things to heart

Some people might say you’re too sensitive, but this is because you don’t shy away from your emotions and you feel things more deeply than others.

This can be good and bad.

It means that you’re able to connect with others on a deeper level because you’re honest with your emotions and theirs, but it also means you expose yourself to pain at times. B

But this is what you get with an honest and authentic person.

And you wouldn’t change it for the world.