We have all seen famous sports figures, politicians and super stars lying about something they have done to hide their shame and avoid the repercussions of their actions. Trouble is, when someone is branded a “liar” no one believes anything they say.
Recently, I was shocked when almost 300 people in Dr. Phil’s audience admitted to lying—regularly. Maybe that's why we see all those news stories about liars. They think everyone else is doing it. The truth is (no pun intended) not everyone does lie.For the most part, I don’t even exaggerate. Anyway, I figure there are some times when a person just has to “bend the truth” and here are a few of the times I came up with personally.
Many years ago, when I baked my first apple pie for my new husband, he took a bite and told me it was delicious. I tried it and instantly realized the crust tasted just like cardboard. But, since my man was so gracious about it, I baked him another one and today I make the best apple pie you will ever taste. I’m thinking if he had been honest, he’d still be getting store-bought pies.
Back in the 1980’s Jack and I took a wrong turn while towing a broken car from Boston to Utica. Stuck in the middle of a narrow side street, I looked over at him, noticed a vein bulging at the side of his forehead and decided this was a good time for a lie. Looking at the map I said, “Don’t worry, honey, I know just where we are and we’ll be back on the highway in a few minutes.” That situation could have created a serious medical problem because he was terribly upset.
More recently, because my identity was stolen, I was forced to fudge some personal information to protect our assets. I deeply apologize to anyone who may be upset by this ruse but it is necessary to keep the thieves at bay. I really think this is an excellent reason to lie, even though it seems to put me closer to the level of the theives. None of these incidents included spousal cheating, congressional shenanigans or fudging athletic drug test results.
So, what do you lie about?
