Dealing with Dishonesty in a Relationship

You will meet two types of people in life: people who are basically honest, and people who are not. Being able to distinguish between the two is important–especially when it comes to choosing a romantic partner. (After all, it’s not like a dishonest person is going to tell you he or she is dishonest upfront.)

If you are in a relationship with someone who has repeatedly lied to you, the first step is to be 100% honest with yourself: Expecting a dishonest person to finally tell you the truth is like expecting to finally win the jackpot on your next trip to Vegas. Rather than trying, again and again, to “train” your partner to be honest, ask yourself some difficult questions: What keeps you in this relationship? Do you benefit in some way from your partner’s dishonesty? Because for every dishonest person, there is a person who is repeatedly willing to “look the other way.” Looking the other way is not a virtue any more so than is lying. In fact, it is itself a form of dishonesty. If you want more honesty in your life, try being more honest.