Excuse me, there is a white elephant in my way

I just watchws the Pursuit of Happiness with Will Smith. There is a scene where Will Smith's character, Chris, has an interview for an internship with a brokerage firm. As if it wasn't bad enough that Chris was going into this situation grossly under qualified, but that very night before his interview, he was arrested for not paying parking tickets in the middle of painting his apartment.

After spending a night in jail Chris goes straight into the interview , disheveled, shirtless and covered in paint.

How would you go about addressing this?

Well, Chris reacts by getting straight to it and naming the white elephant.

Sometimes acknowledging the white elephant by coming straight out with the obvious is the only way to make progress. Leaving it as the "the thing we can all clearly see but shall not speak of" is the route to disaster as it will remain the preoccupation usurping other more important things.

Naming the white elephant takes boldness. But it also results in greater trust and honestly once addressed.