Sometimes the worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
Ponder This: You're always telling people how "honest" you are. But every day you're knowingly deliberately doing 12 little sneaking, underhanded, backstabbing things. Are you really as "honest" as you claim to be?
I agree with Tyto. I never tell anyone I'm completely honest as I know I've made some errors in life and had to work my way out of them. I don't think anyone is totally honest all the time. All we can do is try our best!
I like this definition of “honest”: Honorable in principles, intentions, and
actions; upright and fair.
I have that reputation among the people I
know, and I try to maintain that reputation---as a human, I do fail.
But one “boss” once said of me in front of a
number of others: “If Tom refuses to do
something, you better believe there is a damn good reason.”
And as a Catholic, if I do commit an injustice,
I am bound in conscious to undue it to the extent possible---and that is a
pretty good motivation to do the right thing the first time.
On Ask, somebody asked the question, "What is the biggest lie you have ever told." My answer was, "I have never told a lie in my life."
I wasn't claiming to be truthful: I was just pointing out that my biggest lie was to claim never to have told a lie.
Of course I'm honest. Basically. Mostly. Nearly all the time. But I'm human, too, with all the foibles and failures of the rest of the breed. I am not (in your words) always telling people how honest I am. I make no claims at all. People take me as they find me.