In a society where speaking your mind can quickly earn you a label; too much, too intense, too opinionated, we’ve collectively defaulted to “polite mode.”

We sugarcoat. We tiptoe. We water ourselves down like a low-calorie version of truth, and we call it kindness.

But in situations where the truth might sting momentarily, yet ultimately liberates the other person from a blind spot or a bad habit, who are we actually protecting by holding back?

Is it them?
Or is it us?

Are we avoiding hurting their feelings…
or just avoiding conflict altogether?

Is it more loving to tell your partner that you’d really appreciate if he stopped leaving his socks all over the damn floor? Or to silently give them the side-eye while picking them up, punctuating the moment with a passive-aggressive sigh?

Is it rude to tell your family “I love you, but your constant advice feels more like control than care”? Or is it honest?

Is it disloyal to warn your friend that her new love interest has more red flags than a Formula 1 race? Or is it actually the loyalty test?

The thing is: we think we’re avoiding drama by staying quiet.
But what we’re really doing is delaying the explosion.

Unspoken truths don’t disappear. They simmer.

And the longer we let politeness take the wheel, the more tension piles up in the trunk, until we’re suddenly swerving off course, crashing over something that could’ve been a conversation.

So maybe the better question is:

How much future conflict do we create simply by avoiding present honesty?

Written by a virgo. We won’t always hold back. Because we have regretted holding back when he had the chance to be brutally honest. And let’s face it, a virgo that doesn’t automatically tell you what they think is wrong with you, how much do they actually love you?

If you have a virgo in your lives, kindly let us be brutally honest with you without taking it too personally. If you see a virgo trying to be fake-polite to keep the peace, it’s because they’re too afraid to lose you. Let us be ourselves, and try to see the criticism as an act of love. Because it honestly is. And we appreciate the brutal honesty back.