If a Tree Falls in the Woods and Hits a Mime...

Oftentimes people will tell you that they want you to be completely honest with them. Your significant other or close friends may say that they'll always be there to lend a sympathetic ear if you have a bad day and need to vent, no matter what's on your mind.

The reality, though, is that only a small percentage of those people actually mean what they say. Of those that do, one hundred percent have a limit beyond which they don't want to hear your problems. And that limit is invariably closer than you think.

My mother was right when she told me that no one likes to hear someone who complains all the time. So while being completely honest about what's on your mind sounds like a good idea, more often than not a better one is just to keep your mouth shut. Like New Coke, communism, and any number of Hollywood screenplays, some things that look good on paper simply don't work in real life.