To Stop Lying To Yourself

Do you tell the truth no matter what?

It's only possible to tell the truth once you stop lying to yourself.

Why would you ever lie to yourself?

We do it all the time: little rationalizations to make us feel better. Sometimes we lie to ourselves about our intentions. For example, every time we say "I'll try to do that" we're lying to ourselves. Try is not a commitment. Trying is not doing. To avoid the rationalization, make the strong commitment that you will do something. You do know whether or not you can, so the commitment is all in your will.

When else do we lie to ourselves? Sometimes our limiting beliefs lie to us about our capabilities. Rather than constantly testing ourselves, we may give in to the belief that a task or project is too big. In that way, our own lies (because it's never too big if you really aim to do it) stand in our way, paper barriers to our success that hold with the strength of concrete. It doesn't need to be like that.

To tell the truth to others, start with yourself.

What lies have you already told yourself today? What will it sound like to convert that to truth?

Communicating for results requires the most truth you can muster. How else will people trust your word?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Learn more in the workshop: Communicating for Results

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