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They say that honesty is the best policy. People don't always listen to that advice and their reasons vary as to why they don't tell the truth. Trying to understand why people lie is hard sometimes. Putting yourself in their shoes might help you to understand it a little better. Almost everyone lies to some extent in their lifetime. Here are some of the reasons for which a person will swear it's the truth when they are bold face lying to you.

Fear Factor

This is the number one reason why people lie. Fear of being judged by others or fear of getting in trouble are great motivators to treading the dangerous waters of lies.

Children lie to parents in order to keep themselves out of trouble. This often results in bigger trouble down the road when the parents uncover the deception. Children often don't realize how much worse it is to be caught in an untruth that it is to be caught doing something wrong.

People, in general, will be dishonest about an activity that is unbecoming to them. Sexual promiscuity comes to mind when we discuss this. People will often look down on someone who "sleeps around" and therefore, that person may be inclined to stretch the truth a bit about who they have been with and what they were doing.

A man will lie to his wife if he had an affair because she may leave or divorce him. Either way, she would probably never truly trust him again. Fear does funny things to the truth.

Kindness

People tell "little white lies" every day. It is usually done out of kindness. Not hurting someone's feelings are being considered with this type of lie. These mistruths are usually acceptable, even if the lie is caught. A woman who is told that her new dress looks very nice on her when it really looks hideous, is a kindness. You don't want to make the person feel self-conscious about the way they appear and there is little they can do once they are out somewhere to change it.

Kindness lies are ones that help people build self-esteem. That can never be a bad thing. It is in the best interest of every human being to be told a kind lie every now and then. There is little harm in this type of lie but if you choose to avoid it, you can do what your mother told you to do. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Procrastination

People will lie if they feel they can put off the inevitable consequences of their bad behavior. These are the lies that are told even though you know the truth will eventually come out. It may not be the smartest way to play the game, but it works for now.

An example of this type of lie are when a child got their report card and tell their parents that they haven't come out yet. The child lies because they got a bad grade or he/she played hooky a couple of days. The child knows that they will eventually have to "fess up". But for now, they are still free to do the things they want to do.

Those are the three biggest reasons people lie. Some people will lie for no reason at all. They aren't going to get in trouble for anything, they simply want to see if they can get away with it. For the most part, people will lie to keep themselves out of trouble or show a kindness. People don't have to know everything that is on your mind. Just don't forget all the webs that are getting tangled as you go.

Learn more about this author, Dawn Hawkins.
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