Every lie comes with a maintenance plan. You’re the one on call.

One untrue sentence is rarely the end of it, because it then has to stay consistent with everything that happens afterward. You end up tracking who knows which version, steering conversations away from certain subjects, and remembering a story that never happened. The truth needs no upkeep at all. That difference in running cost is what people underestimate in the moment of saying it.

Add up what you are currently maintaining. If something takes real effort to keep standing, work out the cost of simply saying it, because that number is usually smaller than another six months of maintenance. Going first beats being found out.