Deceit

A deception that elevates us is dearer than a host of low truths.
                 -Marina Tsvetaeva

Deception itself is often looked down upon; after all, no one likes a liar. However, pretending that something is true when it is not can sometimes have a good effect and a positive outcome. In a way, deception, when used for a greater cause can be helpful. Deception is a bit like acting; you develop an “alter ego” and assume that person’s personality. If that alter personality is easily irritated, you will soon become easily irritated yourself, and if the opposite happened, your new personality is a cheerful, happy and optimistic person, you sill soon become happier and more optimistic.

We have an instinct to lie and deceive. Studies show that babies, even at the age of 6 months begin to deceive. They fake laugh and sometimes cry when nothing is wrong, just to get attention. In fact, studies show that deception is at times necessary. We all try to hide our mistakes, believing that it was a stroke of bad luck. Deception itself is completely normal. In fact, studies show that slightly overrating oneself is actually psychologically healthy. It can reduce stress, help form better relationships, and makes us less prone to depression by protecting our egos.

Whenever meeting new people, I always feel self conscious and awkward. I fumbled over words and was never sure about what exactly what was expected of me. Yet, I soon realized that if I pretended to be at ease with the other person, it is easier to strike up a conversation. When trying to act friendlier, I began to feel friendlier and more relaxed, laughing easily at their jokes and be acquainted with said person. Perhaps before meeting the person, I was in a crabby mood or had paradigms of that person, but pretending to be friendlier helped me overcome the prejudices.

There are cases in real life where deception is used for the greater good. In a nursing home in Germany, they placed a fake bus stop outside the Alzheimer's ward. Should the patients wander off out onto the streets, they would sit down and wait for a bus, and thus are safer and easier to find. Through this, we can see that sometimes deception isn’t a terrible thing,

Yet, deception may have its darker sides. Convincing oneself that the large cake they ate is justified because they hadn’t had cake in 2 days. Perhaps at the beginning, we lied to ourselves that we are able to talk in front of a large crowd worked; deception can have a snowball effect. As we find that deception, in this case, self-deception, can help us, we begin to apply this strategy more easily, and feeling less guilt while being more reckless as we do so.

In conclusion, although deception is shunned in our worlds, it is an inevitable part of our lives. Who could forget Pinocchio, whose nose grew when he lied and the terrible consequences that followed. Yes, deception has is bad effects, but its positive effects outweigh the negative. Perhaps we shouldn’t put our feet too deep in the hole of deceit, but lying now and then to our selves is perfectly acceptable.