Many people in difficult life situations face a choice: to lie or to be honest. Some try to stick to their principles and always tell only the truth, but as practice shows, living honestly is difficult. Sometimes lying not only leads to negative consequences in the form of exposure or punishment, but can also be the basis for success, salvation and raising spirits. Let’s understand in what cases deception is acceptable.
As a Way of Support
One can imagine a situation where a sister, on the day of her wedding, right before the ceremony begins, asks: “Does this dress suit me?” but your tastes differ and you think the outfit is poorly chosen. Of course, the truth in such a situation is inappropriate – it can lead to the disruption of the event.
This happens to us every day – at work, at home, at a meeting with friends. We even have to select which sport is better on betting website. We always have a choice: to voice our opinion, which will increase the likelihood that your opponent’s mood and confidence will drop, or to lie, sparing the other person’s feelings. The decision is yours, the main thing is that your lie should not become the cause of the person’s real problems – in other words, the deception must not cause harm.
For Humane Reasons
Each of us chooses our side – it can be a “bitter truth” or a “sweet lie”. For example, if you know that your girlfriend’s partner is cheating on her, you can withhold this information from her attention, so as not to upset her and not to get involved in someone else’s relationship. Or in the case of a child’s death of a relative, you can not report it right away to prepare him and save him from mental trauma and torment.
However, you can look at these situations from another angle – the child in any case, finds out about the loss, and her girlfriend is unlikely to be happy next to someone who systematically cheats on her, and the decision of whether to tell the truth or not, it depends on you and your convictions.
If the Problems Can Be Solved Independently
In this category you can put lying to parents – if the truth can hurt them and hiding it can keep them safe. Every parent loves their child and worries about them regardless of their age, so it’s best not to report that you have a black streak or a difficult period in your life that you can handle on your own, for example. Alternatively, you can turn to friends or professionals to do so.
However, there are also some exceptions – if the child has not yet reached the age of 18, the parents need to be aware of everything that happens to them, so that they can react in time to help.
Not to Hurt Feelings
Here we are talking about telling a little lie for the good of the other person. For example, in the case of a breakup with a partner. This is a difficult period in everyone’s life, especially if it comes suddenly, with no prerequisite to break up the relationship. But if you understand that this is not your man, you do not see a life together in marriage with him, then it is necessary to tell the truth, which can hurt him a lot. In such a situation, you can lie a little, make up a reason and explain yourself to him more gently.
In general, you should understand that every situation is different – you cannot be completely sure that the truth you told will not hurt the person and vice versa. The key thing in this matter is to listen to yourself and your intuition, and not to abuse deception, because finding balance and common sense are the key components of any communication.
Read more: The Effects of the Digital Age on Parenting
