There’s no need to lie when you have nothing to hide.

There is absolutely no need to lie when stating true facts or telling people the truth. It is as simple as that but, unfortunately, people lie. Why? You are only kidding yourself by lying to yourself.

People lie about:

• Who they are
• What they do
• Where they live
• What they have
• What they look like

This is particularly widespread on social media. It seems to be a place to show off your life, your possessions, a competition of one-upmanship, where people pretend to live a lifestyle that they aspire to - but why?

What is this silly (IMO) culture of following celebrities and the hero worship of ‘reality stars’? This ridiculous world which is awash with self-proclaimed influencers - aka social climbers and wannabes - whose ‘talent’ seems to entail persuading normal folk that our lives would be so much better if only we had the same car as them, the same watch/handbag/clothes/makeup as them, or if we holiday in the same exotic locations as them.

The big fat whopping lie is that they are paid lots and lots of money to suck you in and sell you these things, in order to keep funding their gifted and paid for lifestyles. It’s all fugazi (fake) and they get far more out of telling and selling the lies than you ever will!

Social media is one big lie - everybody showing off what they perceive to be their best bits, filtered to the max to try giving the impression that they are ‘living their best life’, just for likes and follows. But in reality, they are letting life pass them by. They are so busy creating a fake/virtual/online life that actual real life and its multitude of authentic, heart-warming, life-affirming experiences are passing them by. They are living one big fat lie! How exhausting!!

Everyone feels envy, seeing how the other half live, but there’s no need or any point in fabricating a fake life to try to fit in, to not feel left out or second best. You really don’t have to feel insecure, nor do you even need to try to keep up with the Joneses!

You do you ~ and let them do them!

Another big lie on social media is how we look. We can all feel self-conscious about how we look, and whilst there is nothing wrong with a fun, cheeky filter every now and again, why do so many people feel the need to digitally alter their entire appearance to the point where it no longer resembles them anymore?!

There is even a term for it:

• Catfish noun [definition] (FAKE) informal. ‘Someone who pretends on social media to be someone different, in order to trick or attract other people’

And then they have the audacity to be upset when people are shocked/upset when they realise that they have been duped themselves!

What ever happened to individuality?

• Be proud of who you truly are - embrace your quirks, they make us (extra) unique!
• Who wants to be a clone, looking like everyone else?
• Strive to be different. Why blend in when you were born to stand out?

People lie about what they do for a living, but not everyone can be an airline pilot, a brain surgeon, a lawyer, or a music composer. Yes, they may sound impressive and important, but all jobs are important. We need builders, we need coffee baristas (and legal barristers!), sales assistants, gardeners, hairdressers etc.

Not all jobs are glamorous and some people are snobs when it comes to judging other people’s choice of occupation, looking down on people they perceive to be beneath them, such as cleaners, carers, or those who wait tables. Just because people choose to clean, care or serve does NOT mean that they are anyone’s servants!

Everyone has a role and a purpose in this life - be proud of yours because we all contribute to making the world go round.

Usually, people lie on social media because they are often deeply unhappy with their lives. They (desperately) want others to be impressed by them. They want others to look up to them, and are constantly seeking their (addictive) dopamine ‘hit’ of approval from other people, in the shape of likes/comments etc.

They want a bigger house…a flashier car…luxury watches…designer handbags…exotic holidays. They believe that these material things are the key to making them happy. But money doesn’t always make you happy. Yes it does help to have money, but, as that well known saying goes:

“The love of money is the root of all evil*”

*i.e. All ‘wrongdoing’ can be traced to an excessive attachment to, and pursuit of material wealth, and is often shortened to “Money is the root of all evil.”

Money can change you - for better and/or worse - and those around you. It changes how people see you, how they act around you, and it can lead to people taking advantage of you if you’re not careful, or susceptible to flattery or BS!

If you are unhappy with your life, instead of lying about it, dig deep and try to be grateful for what you do actually have.

Lies create false positivity; instead, surround yourself with good friends and good energy and work for what you want. Don’t expect it to be handed to you on a plate or via a silver spoon. The world owes you nothing, nada, zilch, diddly squat; if you want something, you need to go out and get it!

Actions have consequences - when you lie to cover something up, it will unravel. Even little ‘white lies’ - e.g. something as innocent as buying a pair of shoes, then lying about when and where you bought them, to hide from your partner the fact that you have been spending money neither of you can afford from the joint household account.

Little lies lead to bigger lies!

To be a good liar, you need a good memory in order to remember all the lies you have told.
You will always (eventually) get caught out!

We live in a world where everyone has a phone with a camera attached and there are also surveillance cameras everywhere you go, and you don't realise you are being filmed/photographed when you least expect or want it. ‘Receipts’ come in many shapes and forms!

Honesty is always the best policy. Therefore, when you tell the truth you have nothing to fear and nothing to hide. There’s no comeback, no stress, no having to cover up things or backtrack, no anxiety, no stress and you can take comfort from that. I don’t know about you, but I like to sleep easy at night, not worrying about lies catching up with me and the knock-on effects!

Lying has consequences like disappointing and hurting people when they find out they’ve been lied to. Once you're proven to be a liar, any trust in what you do or say goes completely out of the window.

Who wants to be the lonely liar with their pants on fire?!

Then we have Karma.

Karma always teaches us a lesson and it's important to remember that you get what you give to life. Or to be biblical for a moment, you reap what you sow.

Positivity and being truthful rewards you with good karma, but if you lie, you will get caught out and bad karma will pay you, and those you care about, a visit.

Always be truthful to everyone because the truth will ‘always out’.

A lie takes on a life of its own and it can snowball, it evolves, becoming more elaborate and it's harder to backpedal once the lie is out of the bag. It would be easier to try putting a genie back in the bottle!

There are always life lessons to be learned and the universe is continually teaching us how to behave until we get it right.