The concept of lying has been a source of ambivalence for many people. Lying is generally seen as morally wrong until the term “white lie” comes into play. There is this hoary idea that sometimes – as long as the lie is just a small lie – lying is not all that bad. The immutable fact is that lying is an action that everyone takes part in. Whether it be to oneself or to another person, lying is a part of human nature. People are chary of lying even though it is a part of the human condition. In fact, lying to oneself could possibly be beneficial within reason.

As long as someone does not pull a Memento and lies to oneself to kill another human, lying to oneself does not have to be terrible. In fact, it could become a way to motivate and feel confident. Humans have a vagarious and orectic need for motivation. If someone is feeling unmotivated or down, they can lie to themselves to convince themselves that they are going to be motivated and are going to do great. For example, a student may feel like his or her intelligence is fugacious after a grandiloquent harangue by a professor. The student may lie to his or herself and say that they did understand the weird language being used and even if the professor seemed trenchant to the student personally, the student actually does know what he or she is talking about. The student would use these lies to build his or herself up again to become ebullient and motivated so that maybe they will actually understand the garrulous professor one day.

Although being truthful and self-aware is abstemious, under certain circumstances lying to oneself does not have be a negative or morally skewed event. When used in habile ways, lying can be used to build up motivation and confidence positively as long as one builds up from their self-lies rather than using them in pertinacious ways to become vain.