Nobody wants to be thought of as a liar.At best, liars are seen to be untrustworthy, and at worst, they are regarded immoral.Despite this, we are quite satisfied to deceive ourselves on a regular basis.I can persuade myself, "I'll enjoy this sleeve of Oreos today since my diet starts tomorrow." "I enjoy my job; who cares if I whine about it all the time?" or "I enjoy my job; who cares if I whine about it all the time?" "I am always honest with myself," or, paradoxically, "I am always honest with myself." It doesn't make sense to deceive yourself.After all, lying is lying to someone about something you know isn't true.When you are both the liar and the one who has been lied to, you must both know and not know the truth.In practise, this entails ignoring essential information in order to reach a conclusion that is more convenient than the facts appear to support.Although everyone deceives themselves, this does not make it harmless.It's linked to bad mental health when it's high. It can momentarily buffer the self-deceiver from negative sensations at modest levels, but it still creates a barrier to the deep well-being that comes from living withhonesty. We must learn to be entirely honest with ourselves if we are to be truly happy.Only a small percentage of individuals are entirely honest with others.Undergraduate students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst were found to lie at least once during a 10-minute talk, with many lying many times.It's possible that distorting reality within your own thoughts is even more widespread."All humans have self-deceptions," one academic describes the data.Because, well, the truth hurts, no one is totally honest with herself.Accuracy in perception is a prevalent aspect of depression, which is sometimes referred to as "depressive realism." Life is filled with annoyind and unbearable facts.Consider the last time someone left a room where you were and you cracked a joke at his expense.Deep down, he understands what's going on since he probably did the same thing when you left the room, but he needs to ignore it in order to get on with his day.Self-deception is sometimes used to defend one's ego or to gain bravery.Former Senator Al Franken famously embodied that phenomenon on Saturday Night Live when he played Stuart Smalley, an annoying, cloying self-help television show host who used the catchphrase "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me. " Similarly, if public speaking isn't your strong suit, you might try to boost your courage before a tense presentation by declaring, "I am a great public speaker!" ” It's one thing to fake it till you make it; it's another to fake it forever, even to yourself.If your success at work or school is the consequence of cheating or preferential treatment, but you choose to attribute it to your own efforts, this is the case.In a study published in 2020, psychologist Paul K.Piff and his colleagues discovered that people value luck more when they are down than when they are up.For example, your coworker may believe that her recent promotion was only due to her exceptional performance; yet, others may observe that she is also the boss's niece.When you lie to yourself about your merit, you justify unjust advantage and make it more difficult to recognise and reward genuine excellence.That's bad enough, but when self-deception rejects painful but necessary facts, such as an abusive relationship or a fatal habit, it becomes plain hazardous.Denial may be used by persons who struggle with drugs to perpetuate their reliance and avoid the hard process of recovery. In 2016, researchers discovered that alcoholics and drug addicts had higher levels of self-deception, such as active denial ("I can stop whenever I choose") and selective amnesia ("I wasn't intoxicated at the last eventide"). These self-deceptions cause us to put off making the adjustments we need to make, as well as aiding our deceptions of others.Self-deception is, in reality, a well-known method of manipulative persuasion."It's not a lie if you believe it," as the old adage goes.Indeed, in his research, scientist Robert Trivers has demonstrated that when people areentrusted with delivering a certain case, they actively avoid hearing information to the contrary. To put it another way, the salesman who tells you that the lemon you're looking at is the best automobile ever probably believes it himself.It takes a lot of effort to sustain all that self-deception, whether it's about your abilities or your relationship with narcotics.

Consider procrastination, a type of self-deception that can range from minor ("I'll empty the dishes tomorrow") to major ("I'll contact the doctor about that chest issue next week").      This type of self-deception is costly not just because avoiding issues might exacerbate them, but also because the procrastinator must repeatedly undertake the mental effort of a job without receiving the benefits of actually completing it up . Why put "Change banks" on your to-do list for months when you can just do it once and be done with it?

The self-deception formula may appear to be "just a bit to shield your feelings and make life simpler" in order to optimise your near-term satisfaction without causing significant harm to others.    

Perhaps you convince yourself that people adore you, and you indulge in a little harmless procrastination now and again, but you never ignore reality or lie to yourself in order to handle the leftovers. But what about your satisfaction in the long run?Living in a cocoon of lies may be soothing, but it's like finding happiness at the end of an opium pipe: you'll never find the deepest type of fulfilment.Only the authentic version of yourself can bring you happiness.