[meric]

Your question starts with a false premise "Everybody lies". You lie, and justify the lying by projecting it on to everybody else. The answer is very simple, stop lying. You'll find everything beneath you fall away. Your relationships will all be adjusted to accomodate your truthfulness. Your life would be unrecognisable months from now. And you will no longer be super depressed about having to lie.

Personally I don't think a "more efficient use of time" is more important to me than how I feel in my day to day life. It's better to be late to work than to miss a once in a life time conversation with a stranger as I pass an interesting scene on the way to work.

[starlord]

While I was on the same page when I was fresh out of college and actually did believe this... I am sorry but I have learned otherwise only after stumbling through all the really uncomfortable life experiences from working in a large "regulated" bank, to working in a funky tech startup with "great" founders, to starting my own company and pitching to "great" investors, to even the personal relationships and even the other seemingly "ideal" relationships. Being too truthful only leaves you feeling more lonely. Almost all the hustles are based on lies anyways... I do personally believe that if one has had to struggle enough in life and wasn't blessed with enough privilege/guidance/network, moving forward in life without some lies is almost an impossibility. (Basing this on candid conversations with some of the "successful" people I have had the chance to interact with at times...) So I am pretty sure, there enough people here who lie often, but aren't comfortable admitting it yet. I just try not to lie to myself at least, hence was looking for opinions if someone did feel the same and how they dealt with it.

[marktangotango]

Sounds like you've been engaging sociopaths on their own turf, and yes I can see that in that environment everyone lies would be a true statement. Personnally, I don't lie about anything, and I find life to be very simple. I don't have to think about what I told to who, when. But I'm just an old developer who's been in the trenches for a lonng time.

You might read up on the gervais priciple, it explains a lot imo.

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...

[meric]

If it helps, I spoke from my own experience. I had completely opposite experience as you - it's only after stumbling through various life experiences I decided to tell the truth as much as possible. The more I told, the more life became livelier.