[munchkin]

I really got into this thing about how “I can’t lie” too. I rarely do – except joking lies that won’t matter if I screw them up. I have had really bad humiliation occasionally because of my poor lying skills. Still – I have a job where there is a lot of confidentiality, and you have to remember who is allowed to know what – which is kind of along the same lines as remembering who you told which lie to… I love my job, but there are really bad consequences of screwing up with confidentiality. Sometimes I think this is what could lose me the job if I don’t watch out. Still – I can’t give up, because there is a crisis, problem solving part of the job that is so perfect for me. So, I’m not going to say “I can’t” to anything. I keep trying to figure out what I did on the days when I forgot really important stuff – and usually I can point to how I had stopped using my tricks and systems, and didn’t take good care of myself, like staying up late, eating terrible food, etc. Then it helps my see why I need to stay on top of that stuff if I want to keep progressing.

Maybe if it’s really important to be able to lie – like in negotiating situations and such – you could practice with non-eventful lies. That way if you mess them up, you’ll just get a laugh out of it. Also, you could test out what is going on when you are less or more able to pull them off. Plus- to build confidence – see that you can pull it off to some extent…

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[munchkin]

Two things about thinking on my feet… FIRST – I overprepare, and keep a cheat sheet if it’s something really important like getting a job. I use my “over-focusy” brain to do some contingency planning, and write down what I’ll say in each situation, and keep that with me at all times in a folder with my resume, etc. Then I can breathe a sigh of relief and quit tensing up and furrowing my brow as I try to repeat the facts to myself over and over so I don’t forget. Once I know I have a strategy for remembering, I feel a lot happier, and my relaxed state actually helps me to think better on my feet. SECOND – I get over the fact that I’m going to screw up, and have a sense of humor about it. For me, part of thinking on my feet is blurting out the wrong thing and then recovering beautifully from it, and laughing with them instead of feeling laughed at. This is what I TRY to do because the other people aren’t perfect either, and they are going to have to accept me for who I am if they want the benefits of my talents – and I am willing to do the same for them. I’ve had it with trying to keep this silly secret and make everyone think I’m actually a super organized freak. (Although I still try to improve on my disorganization as much as possible – but not beat myself up too bad)

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