The Daily Habit That Has Impacted My Life The Most

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." - Joe Klaas

The daily habit that has positively impacted my life the most is operating from a place of truth.

As a kid, I loved playing "The Manipulator."

I was enamored by characters like Light Yagami & L from Death Note - cunning geniuses who could strategize circles around anyone. I loved the idea of keeping my cards close, maintaining the upper hand through misdirection.

So, I emulated their behavior. Or at least attempted to.

I would weave intricate webs of lies, thinking it made me smarter and more in control (emphasis on "control").

Unfortunately, it always backfired spectacularly. But each failure only made me double down - determined to perfect the "art" of deception. I became obsessed with questions like:

- Why didn't it work?

- What would have been a better lie to tell?

- What did I do wrong?

- How can I refine my approach for next time?

It was a game for me. And I was losing badly.

One memory in particular haunts me (I use this word loosely)...

I must've been 9 or 10 years old. As usual, I had done something to anger my mother, who was chasing me furiously around the house. In a moment of ridiculousness, I burst out the front door, thinking I could somehow escape outside. I looked behind to see her slam the door shut, locking me outside.

So there I sat on the bench, stewing in anger, mumbling under my breath:

"I didn't even do it...I didn't even do it...I didn't even do it..."

Then, out of nowhere, I stopped and thought - wait, I did do it! I was utterly flabbergasted at myself. I had somehow convinced my own mind of my innocence. The ability to self-deceive to that level honestly scared me in that moment.

But it still didn't stop me.

It wasn't until I stumbled upon Jordan Peterson's biblical series (Sometime in 2021) that something finally clicked. He made an utterly convincing case for why you must orient yourself toward truth and minimize deceit. I hadn't yet realized the game I was playing was slowly destroying me from the inside out, but I still said, "Why not."

So, I decided to experiment with living from a place of radical honesty to see what would happen.

Bless my curiosity & open-mindedness, lol.

Just like Peterson said, it was excruciatingly difficult at first.

How would I maintain control without misdirection?

Surely, some falsehoods here and there were justified if they enabled me to outmaneuver adversaries and obstacles. Or so I convinced myself. I spent decades constructing intricate layers of lies - now I had to dismantle them.

But I persisted. I started by carefully observing myself and refraining from saying anything I didn't genuinely think was true or accurately reflected my feelings at the moment. This meant speaking very little initially. But gradually, as the days accrued, I started noticing the immense stress relief from stripping away the tangled falsehoods I could barely keep track of anymore. I could finally just be present with myself and others. I saw beauty and joy around me that my perpetual scheming had blinded me to.

This habit has cascaded into every area of my life. I now build my days around cultivating truth and self-awareness through journaling. And I reflect truthful ideas in my writing, even when inconvenient or controversial.

In retrospect, my professed skill in deception brought much more harm than good. The mental tax of juggling different versions of reality was draining. My relationships suffered from an absence of authenticity. I had created a cage that limited genuine connection while offering the illusion of control.

Sure, sometimes the truth hurts. But as they say, "no pain, no gain." Avoiding discomfort is how you stay stuck where you are. Leaning into truth lights a path to growth.

The truth won't always set you free immediately. But persist through the growing pains, and I promise - you'll look back one day with gratitude for the person it helped you become.

Start now by asking yourself: "Is what I'm doing/saying completely true and accurate?"

You'll be amazed at what can happen through that simple habit alone.