The Type Of Energy To Seek In 2026

The Difference Between Honesty and Transparency

I spoke with a client the other day and he brought up a new product.

The product isn’t important, but he said his practice would be to find clients for his service,

then pass the work to people in the Philippines where he can pay them and not tell the clients..

I paused him there, and was like “Great plan! But why wouldn’t you tell the clients?”

I brought up a couple reasons why they’d understand, why its not a problem for them to know.

But the biggest was the downsides, I told him -

Keeping it from them would break your trust.

Communication would be a nightmare.

Them finding out, when they probably would’ve been fine with it, could ruin your reputation.

Most people think honesty and transparency are the same thing.

They’re not.

Some people ask only for honesty and accidentally receive transparency, then feel overwhelmed by how real it is.

Others beg for honesty and never receive transparency… and wonder why they still feel uneasy, confused, or unsure.

Honesty and transparency live in the same family,
but transparency is the older, wiser sibling.

Honesty is about words.
Transparency is about being.

Honesty says, “I will tell you the truth.”
Transparency says, “I live in truth.”

Honesty is answering questions.
Transparency is removing the need for questions.

Honesty still leaves room to hide.
Transparency says, “there is nothing to hide, and I don’t need to.”

Transparency moves beyond just telling the truth,
it moves into self-transcendence, acceptance, and grace in who we are.

It is the absence of shame.
It is the clearest of minds.
It is the end of the second life we run in our heads.

Because every lie we tell spins a web of more lies we have to remember…

What we said
Who we said it to
Why we said it
How to defend it later

That’s exhaustion.

That’s anxiety masquerading as control.

Honesty cuts the web.
Transparency removes the spider entirely.

And this is why transparency matters:

Whether in love, friendships, business, or our inner lives…

Transparency is the path to peace.

Not just “tell the truth when asked.”

But:

“I am who I say I am.
I live how I speak.
There is nothing I am scared to be seen for.”

In 2026, we don’t chase chaos.

We chase peace and clarity.

And the road there is honesty first
but, eventually…

transparency.

The house key vs. the glass house

Picture this:

You live next door to your partner.
They hand you a key and say,

“You can come check on me whenever you want.”

That’s honesty.

They’re not hiding.
They’re willing to share.
They’ll answer your questions truthfully.

But (in the not toxic way lol) they can hide what they do behind those walls, and clean up before you enter.

Now imagine something different.

Instead of giving you a key…

They build their whole house out of glass.

You don’t need the key.
You don’t need to knock.
You don’t need to wonder.

You can see in.
They can see out.
Nothing is concealed.

That’s transparency.

Transparency isn’t:

“Ask and I’ll tell you.”

Transparency is:

“I have nothing to hide.
My world is open.
My life is safe with you, and your life is safe with me.”

It is honesty with love added to it.
It is truth without fear attached to it.

In 2026, everyone is seeking peace and clarity

2026 is not the year of hustling harder.
It’s not the year of acting tougher.
It’s not the year of pretending everything’s fine.

2026 is the year of peace and clarity.

And the fastest path to peace is transparency.

Not because someone forces it out of you, that’s control.
But because you want to live in alignment.

Transparency removes the second life we secretly live in our heads.
No more hiding versions of yourself.
No more managing stories.
No more rehearsing explanations.

Your outer life matches your inner life.

That’s where peace comes from.

Transparency is love

Honesty says:

“I will answer you truthfully.”

Transparency says:

“You don’t even have to worry.”

Honesty still allows compartments.
Transparency opens your world.

Transparency says:

“I’m not performing.
I’m not curating.
This is me.
You’re safe here, and so am I.”

It isn’t weakness.
It isn’t oversharing for attention.
It isn’t dumping every thought you’ve ever had.

It’s a posture of nothing to hide.

It’s saying:

“My intentions are clean.
My actions match my words.
You don’t have to wonder who I am when you’re not around.”

That level of openness creates real intimacy.
It builds real trust.
It dissolves anxiety at the root.

There is no downside to overcommunication

One more thing:

There is almost no detriment to overcommunication.

Most disappointment is born from unspoken expectations.

We expect loyalty without expressing needs.
We expect understanding without sharing context.
We expect depth without offering vulnerability.

Expecting a lot with minimal communication isn’t maturity, it’s testing people.

And expectations with silence almost always lead to disappointment.

Transparency solves this.

You say what you feel.
You say what you need.
You say what’s true for you.

Not to control…
But to be clear.

Honesty tells the truth. Transparency lives the truth.

Honesty is good.
It matters.
It’s necessary.

But transparency is the higher form of honesty.

It is honesty without armor.
Honesty without performance.
Honesty without backup stories.

Honesty says:

“I’ll be real with you.”

Transparency says:

“I’ll be real with you, and I will live in a way where I don’t need to hide anything from myself either.”

That’s love.
That’s peace.
That’s clarity.

And that’s the energy we bring into 2026.