Oh, hello. Remember me? The absentee author of this blog? Yeah, just thought I'd pop in for a bit, say a few words. You know, kind of like I'm supposed to be doing a few times each month. But, since I've quite obviously failed spectacularly in doing so, I will cease promising anything from this point forward, as it is clear that I follow through on them about as often as I pull out my own eyelashes...on purpose. (In real life, of course, that is made easier, but when it comes to stuff like this, motivation and ideas play huge roles in putting this out - and as I have had neither, you have had nothing to read.)
As we are on the topic of promises, though, let us discuss a very closely related topic: lies. Lately I have found myself in the midst of a myriad of people who have turned out to be very different from who I believed them to be. Lies, I have found through experience, always lead to far more trouble than telling the truth - no matter how bad or otherwise it may be - does. Not to sound cliche, but lies will end up hurting people 95% of the time...even if the initial intentions are to get the opposite effect. So, knowing this, why do people lie? Aside from the obvious reasons (i.e. to try and save their own hides), why do people tell the lies they do? I've explored this topic a little bit, and have come up with the following list of reasons why people lie
(It should be noted beforehand that these are opinions of my own, and disagreements are very much welcome. In fact, if you have a refutation, please let me know what it is. =] )
And so, why people lie:
1. To enhance one's image. After all, it sounds far more exciting to say (if you're a girl) that Sidney Crosby, currently the greatest hockey player in the entire world, lost his virginity to you, and now he won't stop bugging you, even though you've told him time and again that you aren't interested, than to say "Oh, yeah, my first time was with my high school boyfriend in grade twelve. We didn't last very long after that. It was my first time, but man, it sucked."
2. To improve one's social situation. I mean, who wouldn't lie about being rich and having super-nice cars, and getting regular opportunities to drive super-cars - like Audi R8s, but it was only a v10 - and have their own businesses at the ripe old age of seventeen? It's so much more impressive than, uh, a job at Longo's or Futureshop, and thus garners significantly more attention. And, er, friendships.
3. To avoid problems. You want something, but you know that, if you get it, shit is seriously going to hit the fan. Hell, you don't even want it all that much, but why not take the risk if you know that you can avoid all the drama and fuss if you just...don't mention it? Why not go ahead and take the plunge if you know that the person has next to no way of figuring out the truth? (The answer? Because big lies are always way too hard to keep up, and in this day and age, even if that person doesn't know what's going on, someone they know most likely does, so secrets don't stay secret for very long...)
4. Because one cares only about oneself. Who gives a shit how a person's lies may affect the ones closest to them? It's all about being in the moment, all about getting in the most advantageous situation possible. It's because people want to be the ones to come out on top, to be the ones with the most material (and, in some cases, immaterial) possessions. If telling a few lies gets you ahead, then what's wrong with drawing a little bit of emotional blood in the process?
5. To have a back-up plan. This one's easy: you lie to people so that, in case something in your life falls through (friendships, jobs, all manners of relationships), you can have something or someone to fall back on. This is done most often in high school: you mingle and fake your way into as many social groups as possible so that, if one kicks you out, you've still got a place to go.
6. Insecurity. This ties into the first and second ones: you don't feel that you, as a person, are good enough. So you lie to make yourself seem better to everyone else. Problem with that is, as I mentioned earlier, it's hard to maintain really big lies for very long in this day and age. At one point, someone will find out that you do not have a Porsche 911 Turbo, that your ex-girlfriend was not a Brazilian supermodel, that you are not an heir to a major chain of hotels, and that you were never a superstar hockey player who will never be in the NHL due to an injury. They will, instead, discover that you take the bus, have never been in a relationship, have no clue what the hell you're going to do with your life, and have never played a competitive sport in which you could potentially get bruised. In fact, your idea of "exercise" is the five-minute walk to the bus stop every morning.
7. Starved for attention. Also ties into several of the aforementioned reasons. People who are alone and need company, or need others to pay attention to them will lie their asses off - a lot of the time, though, the lies won't always be good. Not uncommon to lie about illnesses and diseases that are ravaging ones body just for the sake of getting sympathy and pity from the people who hear about it. Note to all those who do this: karma is a fucking bitch, so choose your lies carefully. Better yet, come to terms with your dull reality and just let it be.
I certainly have.
Affrontedly yours,
Aya
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