It’s a highly unpleasant feeling when you tell something to someone, and they immediately take it as a lie. You are probably then wondering what is wrong with those people.
Have you heard about that story about the boy who cried Wolf? Well, maybe you are that boy.
Why do people think you are lying? The reason for this can be their previous experiences with you or others and the verbal signs signaling to them that you are lying.
You are fed up with it, and you want people to believe what you have to say, and it offends you to be considered a liar.
Maybe it’s gotten to the point where you don’t even know if you’re telling the truth because no one believes you.
This article will better explain your behavior and why others do not believe you.
Why Do I Feel Like I’m Lying When Telling The Truth?
When you are so used to lying, it is strange to you even when you tell the truth.
The truth itself becomes blurred and confused, and you wonder why.
Lying can get under your skin and becomes a part of you. You may not even notice when you are lying.
But obviously, your subconscious works from the inside, and it’s tiresome to fight constant battles with your lies.
Have you seen the movie “Liar, Liar” starring Jim Carrie?
We highly recommend you watch it because it humorously sends an enlightening message about what can happen when someone becomes addicted to their lies, and lies hit him like a boomerang.
Why Do You Lie? 7 Reasons
Let’s look at the most common reasons why people usually lie, so you might find yourself in some of them.
1. You Lie to Avoid The Consequences of Your Actions
This is the most common reason people lie.
You lie to avoid punishment, conflict, or rejection.
You are probably guided by ideology: Why stand behind your actions when you can lie?
You can get away with a lie and feel like you dodged a bullet, but know that the lies are piling up and waiting to pounce on you.
We will vividly explain how one lie gives birth to another.
Lies are like the mythological hydra that Hercules fought against.
Hydra, when you cut off one of her heads, another will grow.
It’s the same with lies. You solve one problem by choosing to lie as a solution but open a new one.
Lies are like putting a bandage on an open wound.
2. You Lie To Get a Personal Gain
This is the second most common reason people lie.
Was there something you couldn’t get the usual way, so you had to lie along the way?
Have you ever pretended to be someone you’re not to impress someone you like?
Or maybe you said at a job interview that you have years of experience but no experience at all?
You said you like to work in a dynamic environment. In reality, you hate that kind of atmosphere and don’t want to be surrounded by people?
It was all just to get that high paid job.
These lies help you gain something you will not succeed without.
It’s as if lies are your allies.
3. You Lie to Protect Someone
This may seem like a humane act, but it also carries consequences.
Let’s say your friend did some illegal act, and you lie to cover it up.
You can get yourself into trouble that way.
4. You Lie to Protect Someone’s Feelings
Also, this may seem like you are doing good to the other person, but it doesn’t have to be like that.
Let’s say you decide to lie to your wife and say she hasn’t gained weight even though she clearly has.
Or that you avoid breaking up with someone, and it’s evident that you don’t love them. You don’t want to hurt your partner, so you decide to stay in a relationship where no one is happy.
You probably think that if you decide not to say something, it’s not lying.
5. You Lie To Make Yourself Worth
To feel better and more important in front of others, you like to brag too much and overestimate yourself and your abilities.
Maybe you are one of those who like to tell stories to others.
You know that one guy who likes to tell some fictional stories, or if they’re real, spice them up with many lies to make them more engaging?
Are you that storyteller?
If everyone has realized your stories are fake, don’t be surprised that they don’t take you seriously even when you say something true.
6. You Lie to Gain Power and Control
Lies as a means of manipulation and control are the worst lies.
These methods are used by villains. Are you a villain?
7. You Lie to Keep Something Private
You absolutely have the right to your privacy, and you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to say to others.
But if your friends overshare and you like to be more private, there can be misunderstandings.
Why Does Nobody Believe Me When I Tell The Truth?
You wonder why no one trusts you anymore.
There are three reasons for this:
1. Everyone Has Lost Trust in You
People around you had enough of your lies and have no patience for you, regardless of whether you are their family member, partner, or friend.
They have fallen into your web of lies so often that they don’t even pay attention when you tell the truth.
If you said you would be there for a friend in need and didn’t show up, don’t expect him to believe you next time.
Let’s say your wife caught you in a lie about not respecting boundaries with other women at work. She probably won’t believe you for a while even though you are telling the truth.
2. The Obvious Signs That You Are Lying
Sometimes you tell the truth for nothing if you don’t say it correctly and your body movements don’t follow adequately.
Maybe lying has become too much of a habit for you, so it is difficult for you to communicate without some signs of lying.
These are usually:
- facial expression and emotions do not match;
- frequent blinking;
- difficulty maintaining eye contact;
- excessive facial expressions;
- change in voice and intonation;
- speaking too extensively or too restrictively;
- confusing and forgetting what you wanted to say.
People easily associate these signs with lying.
So if you do something like that while talking to someone, don’t be surprised if they think you’re lying even though you’re telling the truth.
3. People Have Less and Less Trust in Everyone
This is already something general that you cannot influence.
Lying seems to have become normalized, so much so that everyone has less trust in others.
You know those lies that go without saying.
Like when you agree with your friends to hang out, no one shows up at the arranged time even though everyone said they would.
Fashionably late is desirable today.
Survey shows that the average person says 4 lies per day.
Also, today’s world is constantly bombarded with lies from the media.
It is difficult to separate the lie from the truth in all this confusion.
People are already used to it and have much less trust in everything.
What Are The Potential Consequences of Your Lies?
Your lies can make you lose the trust of others and disappoint them.
You can also create a bad image of yourself as a liar.
All this can further push you into various mental problems and dissatisfaction.
If you become completely addicted to your lies, you may develop a compulsive lying disorder.
A person who suffers from compulsive lying is a pathological liar and becomes addicted to his lies to the extent that he can believe them no matter how unreal they are.
What to Do When Someone Doesn’t Believe You? 5 Tips
To change this ugly habit, try the following tips:
1. Understand Why You Lie
Whatever is behind your lies, you have to face it.
That’s the only way you’ll stop lying.
2. Accept Your Responsibility
We often escape responsibility with lies.
For people around you to start believing that you are telling the truth, you must prove it.
Not only words are enough, but also actions.
If you have to apologize to someone for lying, let it be a sincere apology, not a fake one.
4. Put Yourself in an Opposite Position
How do you feel when someone lies to you? You don’t like it, do you?
It’s also not pleasant for the people you lie to.
Treat people the way you want to be treated.
5. Work On The Things You Lie About
Not satisfied with some aspect of your life? Work to change it instead of lying.
You’ll be much happier when you don’t have to lie about your accomplishments.
To Conclude,
“You can’t constantly lie and expect people to trust you.”
Lying is an ugly habit, which may give you short-term benefits, but it will cause more significant problems in the long run.
Don’t let yourself lose the trust of important people because you choose a lie over the truth.
“It takes a lot of truth to earn someone’s trust, but one lie is enough to lose it all.”