How many times have you lied today?
I’m betting you’re probably lying to yourself right now about that number. Most lying is unconscious and the best liars actually believe what they are saying!
Here’s the truth about lying…
- We are lied to 200 times per day – (meaning one untruth every 5-8 minutes!)
- We deceive 30 people per week
- We lie in 30-38% of our interactions
- College students lie in 50% of conversations with their mothers
- 10,000,000 people lie to the IRS each year (No shock there….)
- 80% lie on their resumes * 70% of all doctors lie to insurance companies
- 100% of dating couples surveyed lied to each other in about a 1/3 of their conversations
http://www.geocities.com/changes1611/sins22lies2.html
Yikes. Looks like we are so focused on maintaining our fake personas and false perceptions of ourselves that not only will we lie to others but we’ll even lie to ourselves.
Honestly, I was never a person who put a high value on the truth. I was more a sweep it under the rug, avoid the problem kind of girl. When I came to the Wright Institute (www.wrightliving.com) where they put this huge value on the truth I disregarded what they said—why not lie? It seemed to make for an easier life—less problems, less fights, and people seemed to like me a lot more when I lied.
But…I was a liar. As I started to really look at the cost of my lies I saw the lost relationships and the loss of my own direction and purpose. How can I know who I am if all I do is lie?
I haven’t changed over night and I’m not saying I don’t lie anymore but I have begun to make a conscious effort to tell those harder truths—and the truth is that rather than worrying about what others want me to do, say, or be I’m slowly getting my own voice back and remembering who I am.
As they say, “The truth will set you free…”
