What would you do if you woke up one morning to discover that you had literally lost the ability to lie? That for some unexplainable reason your brain would now only allow your true feelings, opinions and facts to be the only responses you were capable of speaking. Could you imagine all the secrets, hidden thoughts and honest opinions that you’d be forced to share and admit to? All the filters and false fronts that you disguise yourself with would be shattered, and all that would be left is the truth of who you really are inside as your only representative, and how scary of a thought is that? So, the question is who among you readers would be able to face this without fear or concern?
I can honestly admit how terrifying this would be for me. Because even though I do my best to be direct and brutally honest, I feel that there are some situations where a little white lie is more of an appropriate and compassionate response compared to what the result would be if I was forced to literally speak my mind. Also having to admit about everything I ever said, thought and did that was deceitful or manipulative doesn’t sound like much fun either. Losing my ability to lie would create so much initial anxiety within me that I would age 10 years overnight, which is sad to admit.
The insanity of it all is that we’ve become accustomed to viewing lies as being almost acceptable. If we’re caught doing it, we simply offer some lame excuse for justification with an apology and then continue on like nothing happened. We lie to ourselves about the things we’re insecure about or unwilling to face as a defense mechanism for our own ego, and we lie to everyone else out of the fear of being judged or unaccepted for our true opinion. It’s a never ending cycle that forces you to maintain it once it starts because the truth always seems to have a way of trying to surface no matter how deep you bury it, and the fear of getting exposed keeps this cycle in motion. It literally fits the definition of insanity, and will continue regardless of any consequence imposed, which says a lot about our insecurities.
The truth of it all is that behind every lie there’s either fear or manipulation. They’re the only two motivating factors that set this cycle in motion. We’re scared of ridicule, and judgement. We’re afraid to disappoint the ones we look up to and seek approval from, and we’re scared to step outside the lines of the status quo and be our own selves. Honesty, however takes courage and conviction. Being true to yourself and everyone else around you is the key component in creating a healthy self-image. The more confidence we develop, the courage we build. Seeing that we are what we do, I hope you choose to create the positive cycle in your life and choose honesty. Besides, lying requires way too much of an effort to maintain and the energy could be put into better use.