OiU
All ArticlesEcosystem: The Doubt

The Small, Harmless Lies People Tell Themselves Mid-Task

2 minutes

"'That's where it is,' I say with pride (It's nowhere near… I lied)" — The Ever Optimistic Golfer

Not every self-deception is serious. Some are small, almost affectionate lies told in the middle of an activity, mostly to keep going with a bit of momentum intact. This piece is about that specific, low-stakes kind of self-deception, and why it's more useful than dishonest.

Confidence Sometimes Needs a Running Start

Announcing "that's where it is" with total confidence, even when it plainly isn't, serves a purpose beyond accuracy — it keeps forward motion going instead of stalling out in uncertainty. The lie isn't meant to convince anyone else. It's a small trick played on your own hesitation.

The Difference Between This and Real Denial

There's a meaningful line between a small, self-aware fib that everyone half-recognises as theatre, and genuine denial that refuses to update once the truth becomes obvious. The golfer in this line clearly knows the ball isn't there — the lie is knowingly performed, not actually believed.

Why the Performance Still Works

Even a lie you don't believe can still do useful work if it buys a moment of forward motion instead of paralysis. Committing to "that's where it is" for a few confident steps, before the truth inevitably catches up, is often more useful than freezing entirely while sorting out the accurate answer first.

A Song Built Around Exactly This

There's a song that captures exactly this small, funny self-deception — confident, wrong, and knowingly so — as one of the many honest little moments that make up an ordinary round. Give it a listen: https://oiu.com.au/songs/the-ever-optimistic-golfer

Related Songs

More from The Doubt