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[hannie_bananie]

Is choosing not to tell someone something a lie? I mean, think about it. If they don't ask, and you don't tell, is that a lie? Or is it simply not mentioning something that happened? My mom called it a "lie of omission," but I disagree. I fail to see how it could be interpreted as a lie -- I think it's just simply deciding not to tell someone

Comments

[sherbitter]

I think in a situation like this it's important to analyze why you want to tell someone something. It sounds like you want to do it in order to make yourself feel better (so you won't feel guilty or awkward) but it's going to make someone else feel worse. In a situation like that I would be very careful about hurting someone else just to make myself feel better.

Since you don't give any specifics I'm not giving you specific advice. Just an "in general" kind of thing.

About the other stuff -- are your friends the right kind of people? By that I mean people who will encourage you to do the things you know are right and will call you on it when you do the wrong things? Or do they make it easy for you to do the wrong things? What kind of friend are you?

I encourage you to write your priorities down -- on 3x5 cards or something like that -- and tape them in various places where you'll see them. When it comes to deciding what to do, look at that list -- are you doing something that's NOT on the list and ignoring something that is?

I use this technique and it actually works. I put exercise as number one on my list and whenever I don't want to do it -- and usually I come up with a REALLY good reason not to (clean something, pay bills, go to the grocery store, etc.) -- I look at the list. Cleaning, paying bills, grocery shopping -- they're not anywhere on my list, even though they're good things to do. Exercise is NUMBER ONE. So -- I exercise.

You don't build character by doing easy things. When you choose to do what is right even though you want to do what's wrong, you build character. When you give in to what is easy and fun -- even though you know it's wrong -- you are tearing yourself down.

When I teach my classes I recommend the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I recommend it to you -- or you could read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. If you read it with an open mind and attempt to apply the principles to your life, it will help. Really.

Love you,
AS