The pros and cons of lying well.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“He was the last person who helped me”.
He looked at me with absolute sincerity.
“I spent so many years being dishonest, being irresponsible, and taking people I knew for a ride. I thought I was the smart one. I spent more than I could afford, to keep up with appearances. I borrowed money and didn’t think of paying it back until I felt like it. That’s when I got involved with a loan shark”.
I looked at him as he continued.
“I first came to KL after I got divorced in Penang. I swore off women for a few years after that, and then I started mixing with, well, the wrong crowd I guess.”
It was an unexpected but welcome moment of honesty.
“My realisation came one night when the loan shark called me to pay up, or else I would be beaten really badly. I called every single friend and number on my phone to ask for help, it was only a thousand plus ringgit I had to pay, and every single person I called either said they were busy or unavailable. That’s when it came to me, all the times I had been dishonest, all the times I thought I could get away with lying, has resulted in me being totally alone when I really needed help. That moment changed my life”.
“Sometimes it takes a situation that is really difficult to make us see things as they are” I said.
He nodded and smiled.
“He was the only person I called after that, and we were just acquainted, I didn’t even know him that well, who didn’t say anything or judged me. I was totally honest with him and told him everything about the hole I had dug myself into, and he just said “Ok, I’ll settle the loan for you. You come and work for me to clear it off”.
“I have been working with him ever since”, he smiled.
“And since then, I have been honest with everyone I meet. There is no good that can come from lying, especially to people who took the chance to trust you in the first place. It took a few years for me to gain the trust again of people around me, and now I’m in a much better place than ever before”
I saw the look he had, it was one of peace. Being honest does work, especially to ourselves, and in all that we do.
Take a chance on being just a little bit more honest with ourselves and others today. It can change your life too.
6 January 2021 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia