How often you observe a friend or your loved one lie and how often it irks you to see people around us resort to the easiest mean of defence, a lie, to protect them from what could be a temporary loss or for a short term ego boost. Considering the amount of lies that we all are confronted with on a day-to-day basis, do you wonder why do people lie?
Why do people lie?
Lying a shield for self-protection
To protect themselves comes as the first thought in defence of this question. People aren’t completely dishonest but in order to avoid embarrassment or negative judgment, they take a shelter of dishonesty in order to maintain their so called image that they have created among the people. And it could be to hide the fact that they committed a mistake. Fear could be another reason behind such behaviour. At some times, people do lie because they are not ready to face the consequences of telling the truth.
To boost their Image
To be accepted by other and being approved is a prerequisite for all humans. And in order to be accepted they change their outer personality to make it more Impactful, affectionate and likeable. This outer personality is not their true self, but just a means of boosting their self-image. This outer personality may take a help of lies to keep it in good books of others.
Lying as an impulse
Sometimes when people get stuck in a situation, then lying comes out as an impulse out of fear of the unknown. And once it has been said, they cannot take it back so they stick with it and may have to say further lies to cover it up.
Relationship management
Some lies are harmless but just as white as any other lie could be. Such lies are said to avoid arguments and make the other person happy. These are polite lies and mostly harmless.
The most prominent problem with lying is that it’s an addiction. Once you lie and get away with it safely, next time lying comes more naturally to you. And before you know it you are addicted to lying and use it even for the most mundane expressions. Lying has destroyed more relationships than any other cause. It shakes the core foundation of your relationships. Lying is stressful; it causes confusion and haziness in your mind. There is a continuous fear of being caught and you keep on thinking about what version you had said to whom which doesn’t let you live peacefully. Above everything else, lying kills your integrity and self-respect.
On the other hand, if you speak truth, you live peacefully and honestly. It takes a little courage to face the consequences but the result will be worth it. You feel more confident in yourself and feel trusted and trust worthy.
