From One Lie...
Sometimes, telling a lie might not be so bad. It could be pretty harmless if you come to think of it. Just something you said to get yourself out of a tight spot, something anyone would do to save themselves some headache.
But then, the real problem begins when it goes beyond that one lie. When you have to start telling more lies to cover the first one and keep telling more to keep covering everything. And then, it will get to a point where you have become so entrenched in telling lies that you would have no idea when it becomes a part of you. You would no longer be able to tell when you are telling a lie or when you are saying the truth. It will get all mixed up.
Sadly, this scenario is not isolated to just lies. It goes for other vices as well. It is very difficult to do something just once and leave it at that. It will take a lot of nerve and determination to see it through, and many humans are not built that way.
This is why things like blackmailing will always be in vogue. Because many of us have skeletons in our cupboards, acts we have done in the past that are best left in the memory. Acts that we are not proud of, and if they are let out, they could destroy everything we have worked so hard to achieve. As long as you’ve got a substantial amount of dirt on someone, you will basically have them under your thumb and they will be forced to do anything you want them to.
This is why as I try to live my life the way I want, I also try my best to do things I know I will always stand by. The only people who can be blackmailed are those who have something secret they are ashamed of and would want to hide. So, if you are clean as a whistle, then you can stand very firm.
In politics, one sure way of climbing up the ladder is knowing how to dig up dirt and being a meticulous record keeper. If you have leverage over your opponents, you can steer your political journey in the direction of your own choosing. We see this displayed all the time, but we just do not notice because we have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. But then, many of the friendships we see on TV are usually forced, or solely out of selfish interest.
And not just in politics. Things like these happen to celebrities, in schools, and whatnot. People use other people’s past to get them to do something they would never do on a good day.
Luckily though, we are slowly evolving into a society that is becoming less tolerant of blackmailers. There was a time that people would rather pay millions of dollars than have their secrets leaked. But now, many people do not care. Instead of giving the blackmailers the satisfaction, they will leak the secret themselves and use the publicity to their advantage.
Left to me though, I would just prefer it if there was no connection to any blackmailer at all. Because whether you like it or not, as long as you are in the eye of the public, you will always have some people digging up dirt on you. Dirt that they can use to their advantage.
The only way to be free from these people and avoid the ensuing mess is to live a life you can be proud of. Not a life that you only want to remain a secret. You can live your life as you want, do whatever it is that catches your fancy, but let it be something you can come outside and say, “yes, I did it!”
Because once you can do that, they will have no hold over you and you won’t have to start doing other bad things just to cover it up. You will be as free as a bird. One thing I’ve learned is that most of the time we are held back by the things we have done and refuse to own up to. Maybe because we are ashamed and don’t just want people to know. But things like that are what make us susceptible to blackmail.
But then, humans are humans, right? We are always bound to make mistakes, after all, no one is perfect. So then, how you handle your mistakes will determine if they would be used against you in the future, or if it will be something else you will be able to overcome.
Be wise.
Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, I would love to know what you are thinking. Till we meet in the next post.