Opinion: 20 lies we all tell ourselves… and others (part 1)
Sometimes we convince ourselves something we did by chance or habitually for a while and enjoyed has become part of us. Other times it is in a bid to fit in, or make ourselves feel better. Sometimes we are lying when we do so albeit unknowingly. Like Mark Mason says, we do this to "mortgage our long term needs in order to fulfil our short term desires"
Here are some of the lies we tell ourselves and others.
1. I don't want anything to do with the PDP: It is a big lie. Your friend's cousin's dad is a PDP chieftain. He buys you drinks and invites you to parties occasionally and you attend and never grudgingly.
2. I don't want to marry someone for her looks: Really? How come you've only fallen in love with cute, lovely and 'shapey' sisters. When the not so pretty fall for you, it's always when you're not in the mood to go into a relationship.
3. I don't eat Indomie………anymore……..ok, just this once. LOL, need I say more?
4. I am not a bad person: My personal pick for the worst lie one can tell oneself. Thinking you're a good person doesn't make us good people. We're only as good as our actions.
5. If I could help, I would: Yes you can help, just un-plug your phone so he'd jolt his phone's battery to life, or split that little buck with that friend that can not repay you considerably.
6. I don't know how to lie: Ooooooh! This one is usually told by those who are "professional liars"
7. Five more minutes: I've done this several times, repeated the phrase so many times I woke up an hour later.
8. I like Savage Garden, yeah me too: Wow, what's your favourite song of theirs? Eeerrrrrmmmmm…….eeerrrmmmm……that eeerrrrmmmm (might not be Savage Garden, maybe TuPac, MJ, Lionel Richie or MLTR, you get the gist)
9. I'm not addicted to chocolate, PS4, Twitter, Facebook, my phone etc: You're the only person in the whole world who thinks so. Every other friend of yours knows you're an addict.
Now, let's get a bit more serious
10. We need an out of the box idea for the company's advert: Then someone finally offers that very creative idea that will send the company's image and rating through the roof only to be met with the dismissal that often sounds like this "no that's just impossible and crazy" or "it doesn't conform with the image we're trying to send out"
11. I am not motivated by money: When I went for an interview to be employed as a tele-sales person with The First Group in Abuja, my interviewer Mr. Brian Cohen asked me "Are you motivated by money?" I answered yes, though I had thought for a while what the right answer should be. We often say we aren't but, oh, we so are. Right from trying to achieve that university degree; it is so we can make money with it. Simple.
12. Articulate oral skills, analytical skills, good interpersonal skills, attention to detail, ability to learn fast…blah…blah…blah…and so forth on our CV's and resumé. Half of us don't even know what we are saying, the other half are just lying out of their pen (teeth) but it's on Chinedu's CV so it should be on mine, and that justifies it all. We type it, smirking and nodding like an Agama.
