Lies and Damned Lies

Liars lie. We all know that. We also know the grass is green and the sky is blue. What to do though, when the liars falsely claim that a truthful person has lied? Ah, now this deserves a post. And this has happened to the Rifleman not once, but twice in recent months, hence the motivation to add here. 

First, we must understand the motivation of the false allegation. 

When a person falsely accuses another of lying, a quick online search yields that the most common reason is faulty communication, and that is this author's most common observation, as well. Of course, most polite people will ask questions or gain clarification first before lobbing an accusation of lying. 

When faulty communication is not the issue, then a few other possibilities rise to the surface: 

• Pre-existing distrust
• Psychological projection: they are lying about something, so they accuse you.  
• They are trying to cover for some shortcoming, etc. 

Sound familiar? If you have read much of this blog, it should. Definite Secret King behavior. 

So, why, exactly, do people lie like this? 

Well, a study on lying shows that some of the most common reasons people lie include:

1. Avoiding Consequences
2. Gaining Advantage
3. Self-Protection
6. Self-Presentation: People sometimes lie to create a specific image or impression of themselves. They might exaggerate their accomplishments or downplay their failures to appear more successful or admirable.
8. Coping Mechanism
11. Habitual Behavior

So - what to do then? 

Among the best solutions to handling false accusations:

1. Remain calm. Many of the reasons above are attempts at getting you riled up. So disappoint them and remain calm. 
2. Ignore them - if that will gain the desired outcome. Many times, ignoring them will work wonders. 
3. Gather evidence. 
4. Don't lie about them - that makes you a liar, as well. 
5. Learn how to control the narrative. 
6. Apologize - if that will gain the desired outcome. 
7. Destroy them with overwhelming "return fire" - if that will gain the desired outcome.