How many lies do you think you have told this week?
Who did you tell the lies to?
How do you feel about the lies you told?
The list just goes on and on. These can be very good icebreakers for conversations with friends over chicken and beer on a Friday evening. But if there are just two questions that everyone should really have an answer to, they should be What and Why.
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What is a Lie?
A lie is "a deliberate choice to mislead," says Paul Ekman, Ph.D., a psychologist, author, and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco. Lying is saying something with the intent of creating a false belief or impression. In much simpler words, it's an attempt to get someone to believe something that is not true.
Bella DePaulo, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Virginia, has confirmed that lying is simply a condition of life. Both men and women lie in approximately a fifth of their social exchanges lasting 10 or more minutes. Adding that women are more likely to tell altruistic lies to avoid hurting other people's feelings, and men are more likely to lie about themselves.
In general, pretty much everyone is untruthful, at least in little ways, quite often.
Lying, it turns out, is something that most of us are very adept at. We lie with ease, in ways big and small. Our capacity for dishonesty is as fundamental to us as our need to trust others, which ironically makes us terrible at detecting lies.
It's an awful truth to admit that being deceitful is woven into our very fabric, so much so that it would be truthful to say that to lie is human.
But why do we lie?
People lie for a lot of reasons, most of which are not intentionally hurtful.
"We tell lies when we are afraid... afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger." - Tad Williams
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🔍 We lie to protect others
"The truth comes naturally, but lying takes effort and a sharp, flexible mind." - Bruno Verschuer
ROZIE's POV
"I wasn't sure if you'd pick up. Did I wake you?" The level of concern in his cool, deep voice was overflowing. I can feel it transcending to me from miles away.
"No, no... I-I just got back from the restroom." Lie.
I struggled to steady my breathing. Panic-stricken, I literally ran for my life when I saw his name on my phone's screen. My mind was just blown so I let my feet take me away. With my heart feeling like it's about to pop out from my chest, I realized how guilty I am for letting myself enjoy something that was wrong. I happily lived in a moment, feeling estranged from my worries. But I should've known better. Moments rooted in lies will always come to an end, no matter how right they may have felt. Everything in this life is transient after all.
"Where are you? I think I heard an ambulance in the background?" I cringed at the sound of the siren blaring nearby. Yoongi tends to be very aware of what's happening around him. He must have been frowning right now.
"Oh. that... that's from the TV. I'm binging on a medical TV series." Lie.
"For a second I thought you were somewhere else." He sniggered. I forcibly gulped the pang of conscience away. "Feeling any better, babe?"
YOU ARE READING
My Love is a Star (BTS Suga Fanfiction)
FanfictionEvery girl would dream of dating their favorite celebrity. But if it does come true, is it really a dream worth living? Read on and find out for yourself.
