Self deception

By M.Farouk Radwan, MSc.

Self deception

In my previous articles i explained how some people deceive themselves because of not being able to face certain truths. I also mentioned how some people who failed to reach their life goals or to make friends find themselves excuses such as "the goal was not that important" or "there is no time to make friends because of work".

I also explained how this form of self deception turns into depression over time as the subconscious mind discovers the lie and objects to it by sending depressive moods.

Sometimes self deception is done so neatly to the extent that the person really believes the lie and even collects clues that proves his lie true!!

Self deception experiment

A research was done to determine whether people lie to themselves or not. People were asked to put their hands in very cold water and the number of seconds they managed to keep their hands in water was recorded.

People were divided into two groups and the experiment was repeated two more times but in the second time some participants were told that the ability to keep their hands under the water for long times is related to the strength of their hearts and the quality of their overall health while in the third time the other group was told the exact opposite (sustaining cold is a sign of a weak heart and poor health).

The group that were told that keeping their hands in water reflects better health and stronger hearts managed to keep their hands in the cold water for a longer period than the group that were told the opposite!!

What’s really weird is that the second group really claimed that they couldn’t stand the coldness of the water!! Not only had those people lied to themselves to prove that they have stronger hearts but they also found an excuse and believed in it.

Are you deceiving yourself

It takes a lot of courage to answer this question. Some people might even reply to it confidently saying that they can never deceive themselves while in fact they are only trying to cover their big lies.

Are you happy with your job? Or is it a lie?
Are you really busy? Or is it just an excuse to cover up the fact that you have poor time management skills?

Do you really have no other options or are you deceiving yourself to escape from responsibility?
Do you really like to work for long hours or is it just an excuse to cover the fact that you don't have friends to hang out with?

Some people go beyond self deception and believe in lies that erodes their self confidence. In the Solid Self confidence program I explained how people create lies about their own skills then find false clues to prove them; this is another form of self deception.

Contrary to common beliefs happiness can’t be found but it’s earned after you solve the problems that are bothering you. Self deception is not a solution to the problems you face but it’s just a method that buries these problems deep into your subconscious mind without solving them and that’s why people who deceive themselves never become truly happy.

If you are deceiving yourself then its time to be brave enough and to face the lies you created.

2knowmysef is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply. If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself.

The Solid confidence program was launched by 2knowmyself.com; the program will either help you become more confident or give you your money back.

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