Notes

1.
Understand the workings of dishonesty. Most learn dishonesty as children upon realizing that different behaviors result in different outcomes. For example, saying certain things (or not saying certain things) garnered desirable approval and praise, or the undesirable disapproval and censure, if not punishment: dishonestly achieving desired results was always temptingly easy. With time the thought processes behind such actions became so unconscious and automatic that ethics and negative consequences are tossed aside. (see Warnings below). Dishonesty often becomes a tool to:

Pretend that there is nothing wrong with us.
Shift blame to others.
Avoid embarrassment.
Distract ourselves.
Minimize conflict.
Avoid responsibility or work.

2.
Fess up. Acknowledge past dishonesty whether you took a cookie and then denied it or blatantly lied about whose fault an automobile accident was. Although reviewing your past transgressions can create discomfort and guilt, recognizing past dishonesty can reveal and help you stop patterns of lies.

If you feel guilty for having been dishonest in the past, then apologize those to whom you lied or creatively set things right. For example, if you kept money that you knew wasn't yours and didn't make a good faith effort to return it to its owner, then return an equivalent or greater amount to its rightful owner or, if you cannot locate the owner, donate an equivalent or greater amount to charity. If you've lied to a person who plays an important role in your life (a significant other, relative, or friend) then come clean.
List your potential weaknesses, which may be as simple as a tendency to make up excuses for failures or as complicated as kleptomania. Dishonesty stems from fear: find and face it. List problems and then deal with them to consciously battle these habits. If you find yourself lying because you fear disapproval from someone, for example, then you may need to learn how to stop being a people pleaser and be yourself. Most importantly, so admit your errors that you can forgive yourself and use those experiences to reinforce your determination to improve. You can't fix what you ignore.


3.
Think honestly. So doing may sound silly, but prejudices and preconceived ideas can blur the truth: neither take things at face value nor assume when you read, see, or hear something. Offer the benefit of the doubt and be skeptical where necessary. When you make a commitment to communicating and understanding the truth, you may humblingly realize that most of what we believe to be knowledge is actually comprised of assumptions. Consider the Jewish proverb: "What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth."