“Just tell your mom and dad that we’ll be doing our homework together.” I couldn’t do it. As much I wanted to sneak out with my best friend, I simply could not lie to my parents. This proved to be difficult during my teenage years, my friends would think that I was being a ‘goody-two-shoes’ or a teacher’s pet. Even in school, I would get into more trouble than my peers, simply because I would tell the truth as to why I hadn’t done my homework, or why I wasn’t in class.

This ‘quality’ or ‘trait’ has become more difficult to deal with now. Of course, as an adult, I know that sometimes the truth isn’t necessarily the best answer to give. Even at work, I’ve learned that people don’t always want to hear the truth, they just want you to say what they want to hear. Yet I still can’t bring myself to lie. It’s not that I believe some bolt of lightning will strike me down at an instant, or that I fear that I’m going to be punished. I’m not a child anymore. Yet no matter how much I want to lie, I can’t, but not for want of trying. What usually happens when I tell a lie, is that I either go bright red, or I just can’t sell it. People can tell from a mile off that I’m not telling the truth, I’m just not convincing enough.

Getty Images/EyeEm/Vichuda Sirisarakarn

Instead, I’ve learned that I have to just keep my mouth shut. As a shy person, that is something I can easily do, without arousing any suspicion. If someone asks me a question, I’ll just shrug and divert the conversation to someone or somewhere else. This also taught me that if there is an element of truth, then it makes it easier for me to answer. I call this ‘dancing around the truth’, and that I can do. Using the tricks that I’ve picked up over time if I find myself in a situation that requires lying, and it is absolutely necessary that I partake, I will either give noncommittal responses or dance around the truth. The main plus about all this is that my friends and family know just how badly I lie. So when I have to tell them something important, they know that they can trust my word.