It never ceases to amaze me how much people give away about themselves, all while thinking they’re pulling one over on you. It only makes stronger my argument for authenticity.

The latest example of this behavior, which sets me off on this rant, involves the guilty conscience and its effect on trust.

At an early age, I learned that people see the world as they see themself. Thus, a liar never believes what he’s told; a thief never trusts anyone else with his property; a cheater always suspects he’s being cheated; and so on.

What never fails to surprise me is that this is fairly common knowledge, and fairly easy to understand, and yet people continue to give themselves away.

It’s in the accusations, you see. When someone accuses you of something, your first instinct is to defend yourself. Repeated accusations become painful, because you feel untrusted and constantly defensive when you’re not guilty of anything.

But the trained mind can pick up on the subtle clue. When someone is constantly accusing you of something, it’s because that thing is always on their mind, most likely because they themselves are guilty of it.

When someone close to you is always accusing you of lying, it’s a good indication that they are probably a liar. When someone close to you is constantly accusing you of stealing, it’s a good indication that they are probably a thief. And when someone close to you seems to always be telling you that they don’t trust you, it’s a good sign that you should not trust them.