Let’s get real—every time you lie to yourself or someone else, you’re setting up a debt you’ll eventually have to repay, and trust me, it comes with interest. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will catch up with you. And when it does, the price will be higher than you imagined. You need to be mindful of the cost of lies.
In many ways, it’s like holding your emotions inside, bottling up your truth in the hope that no one will notice, hoping you can just move forward without ever dealing with it. But here’s the thing—everything you bury has a way of resurfacing, and when it does, it’s rarely on your terms. The choice is simple: face your truth now, or face it later when the cost is higher and the fallout is greater.
The Hidden Cost of Self-Deception
I used to think that ignoring uncomfortable feelings or sugar-coating reality was a way to protect myself. But in reality, I was doing the opposite. Every lie I told myself—about my potential, my capabilities, my desires—was a brick in the wall separating me from success.
When you lie to yourself, you create a false sense of security. You convince yourself that the discomfort you’re avoiding isn’t real, that you can keep going without addressing what’s really going on. But eventually, those lies weigh you down, and the debt builds. You’ll reach a point where you have to deal with everything you’ve buried, and by then, it’s no longer a choice—it’s a reckoning.
The World Will Find Out Anyway
The same thing happens when you suppress your emotions. Maybe you think it’s easier not to say what’s really on your mind, to keep your feelings to yourself. But whether you like it or not, everything you hold inside eventually finds its way out—either gently by you or violently through forces beyond your control.
I’ve learned that when you suppress your truth, it festers. It doesn’t go away just because you’ve locked it inside. It’s like trying to keep the lid on a boiling pot. Sooner or later, the pressure will be too much, and when it explodes, it’s usually far messier than it ever needed to be.
In today’s fast-paced world, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs and young professionals, we are taught to keep going, to hustle, and to focus on external success. But internal success—your emotional and mental well-being—is just as critical. If you’re constantly lying to yourself or holding back how you really feel, it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down. Lies can cost a lot.
Lies Come With Interest—And It’s Not Worth the Debt
Think of lies as financial debt. The longer you avoid paying, the more the interest accumulates. What starts as a small, seemingly manageable fib or hidden truth turns into a burden that grows heavier over time. Just like the cost of lies. And when the day comes that you have to face it, the emotional toll is far greater than if you had dealt with it upfront.
Lying to yourself or others might feel like a short-term solution, but it’s a long-term problem. It’s an emotional credit card—you’re borrowing peace of mind now but at the expense of your future. Eventually, the bill comes due, and you’ll find yourself wishing you had been honest from the start.
The Power of Radical Honesty
Aspiring entrepreneurs and young professionals—listen closely. The path to success isn’t just about strategic moves or savvy business decisions. It’s about integrity and avoiding the cost of lies. It’s about being honest with yourself and those around you, even when it’s uncomfortable. Especially when it’s uncomfortable.
Radical honesty—both with yourself and others—is your best bet for long-term success. It might feel scary, and it might ruffle feathers, but it’s the only way to build a foundation that will last. When you’re honest, you free yourself from the emotional debt that lies and suppressed feelings create. You remove the weight of carrying around falsehoods, and you open up space for genuine growth.
Advice for Entrepreneurs and Young Professionals
So here’s my advice: never hold anything inside, and never lie—about your capabilities, your dreams, your failures, or your feelings. It’s easy to think that hiding the truth or avoiding difficult conversations will make life easier, but that’s a dangerous illusion. The reality is, whatever you hide will eventually be revealed, and the longer you wait, the harder it will be to deal with.
In business, relationships, and personal growth, transparency is your most powerful tool. You can’t build a thriving career or life on a foundation of lies or suppressed feelings. The world rewards those who are authentic, even if it feels risky at the moment. Every time you lie or hide your truth, you’re just borrowing against your future self.
A Call to Action: Embrace Your Truth Now
If you take anything from this, let it be this: embrace your truth now. Don’t wait for life to force you into a corner where you have no choice but to face it. The longer you delay, the more you’ll have to pay later. Be brave enough to confront your lies and feelings today, and save yourself the heartache of dealing with them tomorrow.
Life is too short to carry around emotional debt. Free yourself from the weight of lies and suppressed emotions, and step into the world with radical honesty. You’ll be surprised how much lighter and more capable you feel when you stop avoiding your truth.
The only way to truly move forward is by being honest—first with yourself, and then with others. Lies and hidden feelings are just delays, and they always come back with interest. So, make the choice today to live in your truth. It might be uncomfortable now, but the peace of mind and success it brings will be worth every bit of it.