a bit of introspection on a Tuesday evening

I have always got myself into bother in my life because I am very passionate about what I believe in, I am very honest and very direct. I realise, however, that whilst these personality traits are not, of themselves, bad I can have a tendency to offend and/or alienate people without meaning to. It is something that most of the time doesn't worry me because I know myself, I know I am fundamentally a decent person and a loyal friend - but sometimes I wish I could project the image of myself to the world that I see when I look at myself because the person I see is so very obviously not the person who is perceived by others much of the time. This is a problem I have had since being very young and at the age of almost 41, I am not entirely sure how I will be able to change or even if I should.