Why I taught my sons never to lie!
“Why I taught my sons never to lie!”
Bear with me as there is a bigger point to make!
When my sons were younger, I made a point of having specific talks on specific subjects. One of the most important talks I ever had with them was on the subject of lying…more specifically, the downside of lying.
I simply explained to them that they should never lie…no in-betweens…just never lie. The most important part of the equation was that it was just wrong and usually never gets you anywhere.
I went on to explain to them the repercussions of lying.
Probably 90% of all lies will eventually be found out. It is just a matter of time. It also takes time and effort to cover up the lies.
When you lie, you usually give tells. You look down.You look left. You look right. You look everywhere except straight at your accuser. Most liars act the same.
When you lie and are called out on it, you will either try to use the sympathy card or the defiant card. Neither will work as people will see right through the obvious diversions.
When you earn the reputation as a liar, nothing you say going forward will be believed. Even when you are telling the truth, you will have doubters. One of the great Warren Buffett quotes is ” It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
When you lie, you affect relationships, both close and not so close. Those relationships are hard to earn back.
When you lie too much, you end up forgetting the lies and have to make up new ones to cover the initial lies.
THAT ALL SAID:
When you have a few moments, go check out the press conference Hillary Clinton held in the past week. It seems Mrs. Clinton never got a talk on this important subject as she failed on all counts and badly. In fact, it was downright amateurish. I taught my kids not to lie just so they would never act like or look like someone like Mrs. Clinton.
Just saying!
Important also to know that lying and cheating are essentially the same thing — representing yourself as something you are not. Its all falls into a category called ‘lack of integrity’. Cheating in society, at all time high, from academics, to job resumes, to marital fidelity, is usually justified with “Oh well, everybody does it.” But it soon percolates to the top and erodes a society from within. In our founders purview, religious faith was repeatedly mentioned as the primary element insuring a society would not be crippled and then collapse from this. The evidence we are beset with this now is all about us… One need look no further than those elected (and appointed) to public office.
Thanks, Gary