Lying changes how people see you; it is as plain and simple as that. Trust is at the base of any relationship, whether it is between your family, friends, significant others or more. When a person lies, relationships struggle to keep trust. Once someone breaks that trust, it is often hard to rebuild. People that are lied to start viewing those that have lied to them differently.
At first, many think lying will make a situation easier to handle or will solve a problem. Someone might lie to avoid getting in trouble, protect how they are viewed, or sometimes protect someone’s feelings. While these reasons may seem valid in the moment, lies can lead to larger issues in the future. If the truth is revealed, people who are lied to might feel betrayed or hurt, if not embarrassed. These feelings can easily alter the opinions of the people who are lied to.
When someone finds out they have been lied to, they usually start to question the person’s honesty. They may even question the person’s actions in the past. Even if the lie was small, now the truth is unsure. This uncertainty can weaken a relationship since trust is mainly dependent on reliability and honesty. If someone believes they cannot rely on another person to tell the truth, they may distance themselves, or not feel quite as open around them.
Lying can also affect a person’s reputation. People, and especially people with close relationships, are used to sharing their experiences and other life aspects, especially when there are emotions they need to express that they cannot just tell to anyone. If someone becomes known for lying, others begin to see them as untrustworthy, making it harder for that person to reform relationships or earn back trust. A single lie, determined by the situation, may be trust that can be worked towards again, but continuous and repeated dishonesty can seriously ruin how others view someone’s character.
However, sometimes it is possible to repair trust even after dishonesty has been exposed. Admitting the full truth and taking accountability and responsibility is just the beginning to recreating a good relationship, no matter what kind it is. When someone is able to show they are willing to change not only their words, but also their actions, the other person might be capable of trusting them again. Although, recreating trust still takes time and effort. People generally remember how a lie made them feel even if they chose to forgive a person. Someone who has lied has to sincerely prove their worth as a position in that someone’s life in order to show they can be reliable and trustworthy from then on into the future.
Ultimately, lying to someone can change someone’s opinion about you because it damages trust and initiates doubt. When people feel like they can no longer count on someone to tell the truth, their view of that person may decline. Despite the fact some relationships can recover from dishonesty, honesty is always the best decision to make in the long run. By being transparent and accountable for mistakes, people can build healthier relationships with a strong basis of the most important component: trust.
