Exaggerate enough and even your true stories need a fact-check.

Credibility is one pool and everything draws from it. Rounding a story up feels harmless in the moment, and each individual instance is, but people quietly keep a running discount on anyone who always makes things slightly bigger. The cost never shows up on the fun stories. It shows up the day you need to be believed about something that actually happened.

Tell one story flat this week with nothing added. Smaller numbers, no invented detail, the boring true ending. It will land less hard, and in exchange nobody has to wonder when you say something serious.