Are you one of those "my truth" types?
HOLY FUCK. YOU ARE. Dear ME the problem is when people like you BUTCHER the english language.
A Lie is a VERY SPECIFIC THING.
It must be Technically untrue, Spiritual Untrue, Deliberately Untrue, And you must have the INTENT to deceive.
Let use give examples:
1. "The Dress doesn't make you look fat." (Because the FAT makes you look fat.)
This statement is Spiritually untrue, but technically true. I also KNOW I giving a false impression and I am intending to deceive. This is NOT A LIE.
It is a deception. Technically true, I am attempting to DECEIVE someone, by stating a "truth". I am only stating PART of the truth.
2. "I am hungry as a horse."
This statement is technically untrue. I am not a horse, I cannot be as hungry as one. However, the spirit of the statement is true, I am very hungry and you understand my meaning. I am not stating something I know is untrue, and I have no intent to deceive. This is a METAPHOR.
3. In 1493, Columbus sailed the deep blue sea. That is when he discovered America.
My statement is neither Spiritual or Technically true, however, I honestly BELIEVE this. I am not intending to deceive you. This is simply an incorrect statement. I am just WRONG. Being wrong is not a lie.
4. "So I walked up to my brother and asked him, 'Is that A Walrus'?" (A Comedian telling a joke.)
Are jokes lies? One might think they are. Often the Comedian just stands up there and spouts a bunch of shit. HOWEVER, he is also A COMEDIAN ON STAGE IN A COMEDY CLUB. If you don't EXPECT to be lied to, yer an idiot. The Comedian is not lying, because he has no intension of convincing you he is telling the truth. It's just fiction. This applies to any form of entertainment. Fiction is FICTION. It isn't TRUE, but it isn't a LIE because nobody is trying to get you to believe it.
5. Opinions are never lies.
For example, I feel the world is flat.
Is this a lie? No. Because when I look out the window, it sure feels flat to me. I know it is round, but the optical illusion of the way the world is, it can FEEL flat. Now if I tell you a false opinion, technically my opinion can change very quickly. Because we cannot see inside people's heads, we have to assume they are 'true', however, we must also assume that the opinion is MEANINGLESS. When someone says, "I Think, I Feel, I Believe, I know" then whatever they say is Bullshit.
These are weasel words that make whatever you say afterwords meaningless. Yes, it's TRUE, but it doesn't matter. When someone uses weasel words, they are appealing to their REPUTATION. What do you think about the honor and integrity of the person making the statement. This goes for any commercial endorsements. A star says, "I buy Berts Bees. Buy Bert's Bees" This is their opinion and you should value that opinion based on how you value the person making the statement.
However, in a court of law, it don't mean shit.
So. Knowing all this, HOW COULD YOU LIE TO YOURSELF?
I must make the statement with the intent to deceive myself. However, how can I, If I KNOW what I am saying isn't true?
If I believe what I am saying to myself is true, Then I am NOT TRYING TO DECEIVE MYSELF, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT.
It has a VERY specific term: Self-Deception.
This differs from just deception. Normal Deception is an attempt to misdirect someone to believe an untruth, without technically lying. This can be done by making leading statements, or omiting important details, or asking leading questions.
Did Ed Kill Jill?
That's a QUESTION, not a statement. If it isn't a statement, it cannot be a lie.
Self-Deception is different from normal deception in that you believe X, but you make no attempt to disprove it. You don't test yourself. Like a feminist believes that women make 75% of men, when the latest data from the labor department shows that women under 30 make 103% of men, and as you go older, it dips down to 92%, with a total aggregate among working age women and men of 96% and climbing every year.
When confronted with these DOCUMENTED AND PROVABLE FACTS, the average feminist says, "NUH-UH" and just assumes you are lying and remains WILLFULLY IGNORANT.
Or Self-Deception.
This is also related to selection bias, where people will trust people's OPINIONS over FACTS.
"I don't care what they tell you. My Grandma said Cleopatra was black"
Shit like this is Self-Decepton. The person BELIEVES everything they are saying, but are wrong. However, they have no desire to accept anything that goes against their world view. It is NOT a lie, because they TRUELY believe it.
Then we come to the person who can accept two contradictory facts at the same time in their head.
"I Love You"
"I Am Only Trying To Get A Free Dinner Out Of You"
This is called Cognitive Dissonance. It is a FORM of Self-deception, but still self-deception. It is when you hold two completely contradictory facts in your head at the same time and accept both as true. Basically what you have to do if you are a Russian soldier every single day.
IF I tell the truth, I will Be Shot.
I will Lie about my successes, and the story will become "truth".
So what IS a lie? "I am six foot four." (On my dating profile)
I am six foot zero. This is technically, spiritually, intentionally untrue, and I am trying to deceive someone.
Understand?