say what you mean, mean what you say

what're you tryin' to say?

isn't it funny how that saying has actually become somewhat of a comeback or threat in our culture?

how you are seen, who you are, who you want to be, what you want to do... it's always interesting to me to try and understand why people are the way that they are, why they do what they do, and why they say what they say.  you'd think that is mostly psychology and sociology, but i actually do quite a bit of this in my job.

i won't bore you with lots of HR-speak, but i will say that a big part of what i do is determining people's real intentions.  reading in between the lines - what they say and what they actually mean.  i am certainly no mind-reader, but i have learned to fairly accurately cut through the B.S. and figure out what's really going on.  not to say that i can't be fooled, but thinly-veiled comments or "theoretical situations" are not typically gonna get by me.

now i know that many of us live in a Minnesota-nice world (minus our super-aggressive-rush-hour-style driving), and confrontation is pretty much a thirteen/four-letter word, but there is just something about being honest and forthright that just seems right to me. oh, maybe it's because "right" is actually in the word forthright.  hehe :)  but f'reals, why do honesty and being polite seem mutually exclusive?  idk. really.  i struggle with this just as much as the next person, but i still feel the truth of it.

say what you mean and mean what you say, because if you don't, well, what's the point in saying anything at all?  the hope that someone will read into what you really mean?  is that deceptive? manipulative?  just plain unwise?  huh.  don't hide behind the words of others, it doesn't bolster your credibility, but instead appears cowardly.

Matt 5:37  "Simply let your yes be yes and your no, no..."  anything beyond that and it seems like you're just inviting trouble, right?