I'm roughly halfway through this book and it's scaring the hell out of me. The author submits that most of us die from stress and that stress is caused by lying. Much of our behavior is lies we tell ourselves and others for various reasons. (To feel good about ourselves, to fit into what we think society wants, etc.) He advocates dispensing with this by telling the truth as a curative for the many ills of stress.
I'm intrigued by this approach because I have a group of friends I've referred to often whom I call "genial assholes." Their defining characteristic is that they tell me the truth, even (especially) when I don't want to hear it. I count them among my best friends even if they are socially difficult at times. I'd like to be like them in some ways and so when
Now I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge. I'm going to finish reading the book and may try some of the ideas out. I'll start with Ericka, of course, but there may be some spill-over. So, over the next few months if I'm being an asshole, please let me know and I'll either let you know why I'm doing it or that I'm not doing it consciously and will try to stop now.