Don't Exaggerate..Maybe a Little..

Since falsehood is disliked, we also dislike dishonest people. When we describe an honest man in this application, we aren't looking at honesty pertaining to contracts and justice. We are interested in the person who tells the truth when nothing is at stake. This person habitually says what is truthful and you can depend on his word. This person is well liked and reliable. Certainly he will follow through with contracts and be just since he is honest when there is no issue. He hates falsehood and won’t exaggerate things. A person like this is far more likable than a braggart because people get bored with exaggerations.

We are annoyed by those who exaggerate habitually. It is much worse if he is exaggerating to receive something unjustly. A person who is insecure and overstates is usually given a pass. But those who do it to get money or position have a much uglier character. We can see that it is the purpose behind boasting that makes it into something bad. Some people are natural story tellers but if they make false claims about qualifications to get money or to positions as we stated earlier he becomes a liar. To claim one can accomplish a feat really doesn't affect others but to claim to be a doctor is harmful. One is annoying at its worst and the other is destructive to his neighbors.   

There are those who are humble and understate things. This kind of character attracts others because he is not out to prove anything or compete with anyone. He just wants to avoid applause. Sometimes there is false humility where credit is annoying to the person. We call this person a humbug and it looks similar to boasting. We can say that exaggeration and false humility are both types of boasting. But those who are humble will understate just a little and won’t do it to draw attention to their humility. People are attracted to this kind of honesty while boasting can be a turn off.  

Next time we are going to have a little fun…literally… The discussion will be about what kind of person is fun to be around and what behaviors go over the top.  We are still on what makes for good social interaction or in other words "popularity".