Do you lie to yourself?

Answer 1

This a fascinating question with some "curious" concepts about lying to oneself.
If one thinks their life is miserable, & lies to themselves that it is not, their "true" perception of their life won't change & they'll tend to go merrily along not doing anything to improve it; as if by saying it's not there, it will go away. To tell oneself it's going to be better, "even though [youI] know it won't" is like putting a band aid over a negative attitude. How can somone "know" it won't? I wonder can reality be so bad, that attempting to live in it might drive one mad, & that by "pretending" it's perfect, reality will change. It is NOT human nature, & if you examine these: "Self denial, defense mechanism," you'll discover how destructive they can be. (As Lindsey H wrote so well.) She knows the difference in that first paragraph, what a positive attitude can do, & that is NOT lying.
I especially liked Sin's last paragraph about integrity. & Moon, my dear, you're not talking about lying to yourself; what you express is a "wishful perception."
Lying to oneself in any situation, or circumstances is always self defeating.

Answer 2

No, I don't. I make mistakes like everyone else and I'm far from perfect but I don't lie to myself.

If you had asked have I ever lied, my answer would have been Yes but as a general rule, I live true to myself. I control the things in my life I have control over and leave to God the things I don't and in this manner I go with the flow.

This is easy to do when I have no interaction with others. Separating truth and lies becomes more difficult when I have to deal with others, especially friends and family.

Answer 3

Sometimes I do. I don't so much think of it as lying to myself, but more of keeping a positive mental state, regardless of my situation. More of creating my life into what I desire it to be. Sometimes it takes tricking our minds, to make our lives, and ourselves, into who and what we desire them to be. Thoughts are powerful, and our thoughts have the ablitity to manifest themselves into our reality. Everything begins with a thought, whether those thoughts are positive or negative. If I am down, or going through a horrible experience, or simply just having a bad day, sometimes I have to tell myself that there is no reason to be down, it's not that bad- and in that situation, it is not so much as lying to yourself, but more of just putting it into a different perspective. If I were to beleive that it WAS that bad, well, where would I be right now? What would our lives be like, if we told ourselves that our lives were horrible, that we are miserable, that our lives have no meaning? That's exactly what they WOULD be - horrible, miserable, and meaningless. And even thoughts about ourselves- where would our self esteem be, if we told ourselves all the time that we are unattractive, not that intelligent, a boring person? If you tell yourself, and beleive that your life is wonderful, it WILL be wonderful. If you tell yourself that your life has purpose, it WILL have purpose. If you tell yourself and beleive that you are beautiful, you WILL be a beautiful person. If you beleive that you are intelligent, you will be. If you beleive that you are a fun person, you will live an exciting life, and people will be drawn to you.
It all begins with the thought.

But there ARE times when lying to yourself can in turn, be destructive. There are times when I tell myself that, this person truly cares about me, and they WOULD be there for me if they truly had the time and the energy to. And that is okay, to a point. During those times, we cannot really jump to negative assumptions, because we cannot base them on any facts, so it is best to always think the best in those situations. But there does come a time when you have to stop assuming the best- for example, if this certain person continues to do you wrong, though time and time again you have been assuming they had a good reason to. Sometimes it is not for the best to continue to lie to yourself, and you have to look at the situation for what it is- because to continue to assume the best- would be to lie to ourselves in a self-destructive way, and in turn only cause harm to ourselves. Sometimes it is best, in some situations, to look at reality, and to be able to move on.

Answer 4

yea sometimes... it's self-denial... it is like when u down 5 cans of beer with your buddies by taking solace in the fact that you are going to jog 6 km the next morning (knowing that aint gonna hapen)...

lying to yourself takes many forms.. it can be good sometimes... like when u know you are 52 but dress and walk like you are 25!

Answer 5

Yes sometimes but please don't tell my conscience it will be angry lol
it gives me confidence and wisdom to pretend my life is perfect in every way. I f I didn't I might be go insane. i did once attempt to live in reality but then I fled because I was teetering on the edge of madness.

Answer 6

Yes, I do.

Just one example: I I try to convince myself that all my friends truly care about me, and that they're just too busy to show some love. If they had time, they would. I'm sure! :)

Answer 7

Yes I do. I have found myself, not listening to my gut feelings. But, I keep learning everyday.

Answer 8

If need be, of course. I mean all's good for respecting Gandhigiri, but did the people promoting it themselves mean it?

Answer 9

Sometimes, but not purposly, my eyes may not see something until too late.

Answer 10

yes i do...if i didn't i don't know that i could get up and do what i do everyday...i have to tell myself it will be better even though i know it wont...and myself is getting a bit pissed about it