In every society (unless there are super honest ones we don’t know about), there are lies that must be told in order to maintain peaceful relationships. Not big lies, like “I didn’t cheat on you” or “Yes, the baby is totes yours,” but littler, mostly harmless lies.
In fact, it has become so commonplace that we don’t even realize when these lies are being told; we just choose to accept their falseness and move on.
So in case you need a reminder, here are just a few of the lies we all believe.
It’s general knowledge that this person has a 40% chance of being there. Maybe they’ll get tired, maybe they’re waiting for something better…either way, it’s definitely not 100% happening.
You know they won’t, but it’ll be because they forgot. It’s a lot better than someone who just straight-up refuses, though.
It’s quintessential Costco sample interaction. You’ve had 400 meals’ worth of free samples from Costco in your life. Never once have you even considered purchasing the newest Nutrigrain bar in bulk. You know it, and they know it. It’s basically telepathy.
Okay, if you’re name is like Vincent and there’s really only one feasible way to spell that, go ahead and have your fit. But if you have a name that is spelled extremely far off from the common spelling (calling all my girls with silent consonants), be ready to accept any name that remotely sounds your name. This is definitely one of the lies we all believe, because I’ve told Starbucks to spell my name incorrectly basically every time I go.
Boyfriends have been aware of this fib for centuries (did people have boyfriends centuries ago? Were they called suitors? gentlemen callers?). You’re going to have maybe most of your foundation done in minutes, but you really want eye shadow and also perfume and also the nail polish you never wear. That’ll totally take five minutes!
The word “definitely” is slowly becoming the telltale sign of lies we all believe. This typically applies to work situations when you need to check a detail on a separate project. Or, more commonly, this is what you say when your dad reminds you to check your tire pressure.
It’s basically a way of phrasing something to imply you will attend to that task urgently, when in reality it’s on the back burner of the back burner on your priority list.
This is any food, retail, or minimum wage worker that you can tell does not give a flying crap about the goodness of your day. They are tired. They are hungry. Their feet hurt. The last thing on Earth they want to do is wish you well on your journey in your air-conditioned car to your mattress to take a nap. But had you been in there shoes at one point in your life, you would completely understand where they’re coming from.
At the end of the day, the important thing is that we remember the difference between these little white lies, and the big damaging lies.
So what white lies do you tell?
