Dishonesty only greases things in the very short term. Longer term, that grease degrades and gets fouled with all manner of dirt, resulting in damage to the "greased" parts.
Hear, hear. I was dishonest for years in my personal life, to make things smooth in the short term. Finally things got so bad that I stopped caring about the consequences of honesty, and started saying what I really thought. It really turned things around. There’s great power in communicating honestly, and bugger the consequences.
It is really amazing, isn't it? It requires true bravery to be honest, particularly when doing so may make others upset with you. But it really does improve your life. Those people who get upset will get upset sooner or later anyway, but when you're honest, they'll be less upset, get over it faster, and will retain a level of respect for you that you would otherwise lose.
In my personal life, I have two observations about being honest. First, honesty should be paired with treating others with dignity and respect. Second, not everything needs to be said. While you can lie by omission, often you can and should omit without lying. (A "lie" is a deliberate deception, and can be done without saying a word, or without saying anything that is factually incorrect.)
Dishonesty only greases things in the very short term. Longer term, that grease degrades and gets fouled with all manner of dirt, resulting in damage to the "greased" parts.