I recently had a conversation with someone who told me that when she was on her way (walking) to a very important meeting, a bird pooed on her head and clothes. That meant that she had to turn around, go home and shower and get changed into a fresh outfit. “Oh well” she said, “isn’t it supposed to be a sign of good luck?” Rubbish – it’s not lucky – you’ve just been crapped on!
This got me thinking about other lies we tell ourselves to make us feel better when it’s too difficult to face the truth. Like the client who is in debt up to his eyeballs and who was justifying spending R65k on an overseas holiday for the family on the grounds that 3 weeks, in SA over Easter, would not have been much cheaper. Rubbish – that’s a lie to justify willful spending of money they dont have.
Or the client who cant afford to save for retirement because they need to have a new car, or put their kids through a very expensive private school education – they will get to it later. What’s that they say about the road to hell being paved with good intentions?
There are so many examples of the lies that we tell ourselves to make us feel better about our poor relationship with money. It reminds me of the classic scene from the movie “A few good men” when, under cross-examination, Jack Nicolson’s character finally cracks and shouts out “the truth, you want the truth? You cant handle the truth!”
And so we tell ourselves little lies to make us feel better about what is actually happening – how else can you explain the folklore that it’s a sign of luck if a bird poos on your head?
