Lies don't work

During the week, Australian olympic swimmer Kenrick Monk made the startling revelation that he had fabricated a story concerning a skateboarding injury.
He had initially told his family, friends, the police and the media that he had been the victim of a hit-and-run driver. Inevitably, his conscience got the better of him and he came out with the truth. He was not hit by a careless driver at all. Rather, he simply fell off his skateboard and hurt his arm. Why did he make up a sensational lie, you ask? Because he felt that it would be more interesting and less humiliating than falling off 'something that a 10-year old can ride'.

It goes without saying that what Monk did could seriously damage his reputation, his career and even his chances at making the 2012 London Olympics. Sure, he didn't hurt anyone but himself but lying to the media isn't going to make him any friends and lying to the police is a criminal offence. Way to flush your career down the toilet, Kenny! Not only do people now know that you cannot ride a skateboard but you've pretty much done your personal image irrevocable harm.

This fiasco is another example of people who will actually go through great lengths to hide their insecurities and failings in order to 'improve' their image. Me personally, I never understood why some people do that. Sure, everybody's got those 'skeletons in the closet' that they wouldn't want anyone to know about and had something embarrassing happen to them but the truth is, lying and telling fibs will only intensify the problem and these things have a tendency to come out, even if it takes years to do so. Remember Marion Jones? She cheated her way to all those olympic records during the Sydney 2000 games and got away with it until 2007, when she finally admitted her crime. Clearly, even if you succeed in ensuring that no one finds out the truth, there will always be that little voice in the back of your mind calling you a liar and a fraud who will somehow convince you to spill the beans.

So people, please realise that lying and fabricating will get you nowhere and will mess you up much more than you realise. Making up stories about yourself is not only a waste of time but it is also, to be perfectly honest, a pathetic thing to do. Just be yourself! If people can't respect you for being you then tell them to get lost. If people can't accept you for who you are then they are not worth your time.

PS: Kenrick, I myself cannot skateboard to save my life and I'm not ashamed to admit that I've tripped, fallen, stumbled etc. Things like that just happen sometimes. It's not an excuse for you to tell some lame lie and damage your reputation as a result.