Sometimes I lie to people about my hobbies and other stuff that totally doesn’t matter. And some stuff that matters significantly. It makes me feel shitty when I do. But I actually feel good when I immediately correct myself.
One thing that I find is helpful is correcting those small lies right after I tell them… just catch myself in the lie if I can and be like “just kidding. I totally made that up. I make weird jokes to myself sometimes. I don’t like working on cars, can’t even change my own headlight.” It seems easier to me not to tell big lies these days, I hope my tendency to do that played a role? At the very least there are some lies I never had to live because of it.
But I know your guilt. That is so real to me. 🙁
You’re empathetic and committed to doing the moral thing, which I think is awesome. Treat every truth you tell as a proof of being a good person. See how good you feel when you catch yourself in a lie then tell the truth instead. A good person doesn’t always do the right thing, but I think a good person has the potential to do the next right thing once they slip up.