Eventually, you really do believe the lies you tell and then your ability to see the world for what it is is diminished.
Additionally, when dealing with other people, we tend to fill in the blanks about the things we don’t know about them using information we have picked up from other people as a template. We know ourselves better than any other person, so we often use our own motivations as a stand in for the motivations of others. If we are liars ourselves, we assume other people are liars too, by default (and, due to confirmation bias, once we look for evidence of this, we find it everywhere).
This mindset means we end up trusting people less than is probably optimal, but we are unaware of this fact.
Say you're a physical coward and you're being picked on for a fight by someone. You can puff your chest up, put your shoulders back and put a sneer on your face, possibly scaring the bully off.
Yes you're misrepresenting yourself. You're lying. But how exactly is that corrosive to your character?
How do I get caught? If they say no I get up, pause then change my mind.
I've never suffered from being caught by a bluff, but I structure them sensibly.
It surprises and slightly delights me to see how often people who try to ‘game’ others, queue jumpers, and others who display selfish behaviour are then given special (negative) treatment from those who notice their behaviour.
Some seem to go around thinking that people are awful, but really people are just awful to _them_. People are generally kind and help each other.
I've seen many people getting a 3 year contract without having a clue of what they had to do, just buzz words.
Public sector
The reality is, 95% of scenarios don’t require what is asked for, and stating your capabilities in the most generous way is the optimal decision. Just back it up with work.
Numbers made up and simplified but in the same ballpark:
Round-trip ticket across town: 10€
Monthly pass: 50€
Fine: 70€
The chance to be controlled is roughly 1 in 10 for a round-trip. So if one did 5 round-trips in a month, on average one would pay 70 x 5 x 0.1 = 35€. Which is a good price with acceptable variance fur such usage. When caught just pay without fuss.
At some point (between 7 and 8 round-trips) it's more cost effective to just buy the monthly pass, as the average cost of not buying approaches/goes over such threshold.
As much as "fake it till you make it" is a much hated approach, there's a grain of truth to it. Many people only got the chance to prove their merit by bluffing (faking?) it first. Sure, they had to ultimately deliver on the expectations, and perhaps there are more of those who faked it and then failed to deliver. It doesn't change the fact that often you don't even get the chance if you don't project an aura of confidence.
Generally speaking, being confident gets you to places. This really applies to every aspect of life.
If you act like you belong somewhere and that there can be no questions about you belonging there, people in general will not question your presence. If you seem lost, or confused people will be curious why.
Walk into a private event acting like you belong, and there are good chances nobody will realize you shouldn't be there. Walk around looking all confused and you are likely to be asked to validate your presence.
Naturally, this doesn't apply only to places, but also groups, communities, companies...
Other life pro tips:
- Stealing is a way to get money
- Murder may be useful
- Fraud is profitable
A bluff, in this context, is claiming or insinuating you're in a better position that you really are.