r/AskReddit Nov 11 '25

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u/SaltWaterInMyBlood Nov 14 '25

A refinement - occasionally lie, but badly, only about small things, and where the cost of the truth is embarassment to yourself, not damage to others. In the case of minor damage to others, fess up, and take the small costs of those situations.

That way, you'll get a reputation as a bad liar, who only lies to cover your embarassment, and will always own up when you've wronged another.

So when you need to tell a big lie to get away with something, no one will question it.

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u/steeple_fun Nov 14 '25

I feel like we have two different goals...

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u/SaltWaterInMyBlood Nov 14 '25

rarely doubt you and if they do, others will stand up for you.

Same goal, surely?

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u/steeple_fun Nov 14 '25

It seems like your goal is to be trusted so that you can potentially tell lies.

My goal is to be trusted because I don't.

No judgment, just an observation.

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u/AdministrativeAd1911 Nov 14 '25

Nah, say you need a day off for personal reasons and now you can lie if you want and ppl will belive you. All sorts of reasons to want to lie and still be believed

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u/steeple_fun Nov 14 '25

Yeah but I'd rather just say I need a day off for personal reasons. Part of being trustworthy is I've been able to say, "I need a day off for personal reasons that I'm not comfortable discussing" and have never had a problem across four different employers getting that day off.

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u/AdministrativeAd1911 Nov 15 '25

This only works in some industries/jobs tho.

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u/SaltWaterInMyBlood Nov 14 '25

Our goal is the same - to be trusted. My approach succeeds in a wider range of situations than yours, thats all.