And, as for secrets, is there any one of us who doesn't carry a TON of those around with them?
Actually, I decided to stop doing that a while ago. And there were certainly a lot of secrets I was carrying.
It's been interesting talking with my family, and my boss. Dishonesty and secrecy have been crutches I used to avoid facing the issues, and many of them were making me unhappy.
So far, my family hasn't disowned me, and I still have my job. And yeah, I came out and told my boss that he's been an idiot, and explained the specifics, and how he should fix things. Heck, I even told him that he should have fired me years ago - I've been very overpaid, and do a wonderful job of shifting blame.
I still have my job, but I'm working to earn my pay. My boss still does some stupid things, but he does them less often, and we work through them. My family still has issues, but we can talk about it and work things out.
For the first time that I can remember, I'm happy.
I am in a small company, which helps, and I am a director in the company (though I typically don't function in that capacity).
Secrets suck - if you can't be honest with the people around you, something is wrong. If I needed to lie to my boss on a regular occasion, I would start my own company, or look for employment elsewhere.