Do you ever tell lies?

Do you ever tell lies?

Chances are you probably do.

So what’s your definition of a lie?

If you’re a parent, it is culturally congruent to tell lies to our kids? We tell our kids it won’t hurt when they are having an injection, or a graze cleaned. 

Some years back a mouse comes into the house and my son tried to catch it by putting an empty shoebox over it. A short time later, he looked at me with big brown eyes and asked, “Did I kill it?” “No, lovely boy, you just stunned it” I lied. That mouse was very dead. 

This could be an example of an “acceptable” lie.

What about a self-protection lie? You’ve been sacked from your latest job and find yourself telling the story which paints the boss as some narcissist who can’t stand being near the talent that threatens them. We do it to protect ourselves from looking stupid and preserve our self-esteem. Right?

And then there’s the destructive ones – the lies we tell ourselves.

“Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others”. – Fyodor Dostoevsky 

So, as a money coach I hear people talk about their relationship with money which can used as a way of appeasing themselves for believing a self-wounding belief. Guilt or shame perhaps.

And the times when someone else has enforced change, for example, how someone looks, behaves, or occupies their time, their generosity, or not. 

Designer labels or bargain bin purchases are both a reflection of attitude to spending. Underlying these behaviours is a question of whether others deserve more than we do, their worth is more than ours, their needs are greater than mine. 

Maybe find some time this week to ask yourself this question: What have I learnt about money and who taught me?

I’ve co-written a Mindset of Money ebook for you to download.

Let me know what you think.