I have a theory. I believe honesty has to do with how much time one works with his or her hands.

I think the more you work with your hands the more honest you are going to be. It is as if when you use your hands whether to work or to create, that action generates some stimulants that tell your mind to be more honest. Your hands discipline your mind.

I know it does not make much sense. I will try my best to explain this “hands equal to honesty” theory.
When you are working or creating something, you train your mind to think through things, the steps, the processes and the consequences. Then you put that into action.

When you are not careful enough, either in your thought or with your hands, you will mess up. You will then learn from that and exercise a higher level of discipline.

It becomes a routine, a ritual. You will think, speak and act with discipline and eventually you will become a more honest person. As you are hands on, you have put in real effort, you know the process of making things, you know the hard work, you are less likely to make empty talk.

You will utter words more carefully. You are less likely to overpromise or boast.

You may not even speak well as you have worked with your hands more than your mouth, but you will exude an honest aura that gains trust.

I could be bias but I trust a quiet person with a pair of busy hands better than an articulate one that keep hands out of dirt.

WH, Oct 2012