To Lie or Not To Lie - That is the Question
It has been a few weeks since I actually have done a Sunday Question. What a wonderful luxury it was having guest bloggers do these posts.
Hmmm. Perhaps today’s question should be about white lies. This idea comes to mind every time I work with a client on smoking cessation. You see, I have never smoked, not one cigarette, in my life. I have no clue what it is like to give up nicotine.
Every so often a smoking cessation client will ask if I have smoked and always looks disappointed when I tell them “no.” I see the look that says, “then how can you help me - you don’t get it.” Sometimes it feels like a disconnect in the rapport.
So, I must admit on low energy days, I am so tempted to lie and say something to the effect of, “Sure, I smoked, but I used hypnosis to quit and was so amazed by the ease of it that I became a hypnotist.” What a great thing - and I suspect there are plenty of hypnotists who actually do have this as their rightful story.
Therefore, today’s question is actually a series of questions:
Do you every tell white lies to help illustrate your point and gain people’s trust? Do you feel this is okay to do in certain situations? Have you done this and has it worked out for you or backfired?
I will tell you if I give in or not tomorrow.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Hypnosis is all about belief, isn’t it? So if you can tell the lie convincingly, make the client believe it, then I suppose it could help.
I wouldn’t go that route, though, because I’d be afraid that at some point I’d say something incongruent with that history and lose my credibility. Instead, when smokers ask me that question, I tell the truth: no, I’ve never smoked because my father was a heavy smoker throughout my childhood and that turned me off it even before he died of lung cancer.
<MR>
April 7th, 2008 at 8:03 am
It is all about beliefs. I feel the same about lying about smoking.