Exaggerate: represent (something) as being larger, greater, better, or worse than it really is.
Human nature can make people do funny things. People very often feel that they are not accepted by others and to be accepted, they need to bend the truth a little. Some people exaggerate when they tell stories to make it more believable. The truth is, people want to belong somewhere and people want to be recognized by others.
People exaggerate for various reasons but mainly to prove a point. People with low self esteem often speak loudly because they believe others look down on them. To compensate, they speak loudly and twist the truth to make sure that they are heard.
Men want to be seen as brave and courageous and exaggerate in front of women to get their attention. Women can also be very loud and will make up stories to get the attention of a man.
Interestingly, people will exaggerate if people do not see their point of view. Instead of just admitting that they are wrong, they will continue to try prove their point.
The mere fact is that we all exaggerate sometimes! Exaggeration could however become a very bad habit. Whether people consciously exaggerate or not, it can be very annoying, and it could cause people NOT to listen to you anymore. They are so used to you not telling the truth that they can actually stop believing you.
Most fishermen exaggerate. A small fish can instantly turn into a giant fish. So is that actually lying or just bending the truth? In a humorous situation exaggeration fits in perfectly. It could also not even be seen as a lie. The fisherman actually did catch a fish, he just twisted the truth about the size.
Let us look at a different scenario:
Peter earns $ 50 000 per year. While Peter is at a party he wants to impress his new friends, and tells them that he earns $ 250 000 per year. Is that a lie or is that bending the truth?
That is a blatant lie!
What if Peter told them that he actually earns $ 50 001? Would that still be a lie?
For sure!
So ask me again...is exaggerating lying? Yes, I believe that exaggeration is lying. So does this mean that we are all liars? Possibly....if you bend the truth just a little then it is no longer the truth....so that classifies as lying.
1. Who of you have ever taken a pen out of an office without realizing it? When you get home and you find the pen, do you drive back to give back the pen to the rightful owner, or do you keep it?
To keep the pen means that you actually stole the pen.
2. You pick up a great amount of money next to the road. You have no idea who it belongs to. What do you do?
Would you try to :
a. Find the owner
b. Hand it in at the nearest police station
c. Keep it for yourself?
3. What is the difference between stealing a pen or stealing a car?
Nothing..... absolutely nothing. Stealing is stealing whether you steal a pen or a pencil or a car, there is no difference!
