Little lies are practice. Be careful what you’re getting good at.

Small untruths feel harmless because each one is, taken alone. What they do is build fluency: the reflex gets faster, the discomfort fades, and eventually the easy adjustment arrives before you have decided anything. Skill in this direction accumulates the same way skill in any other direction does, without asking whether you wanted it.

Catch the next convenient inaccuracy before it leaves your mouth and say the plain version instead. It will be slightly uncomfortable, which is the point. A week of that resets the reflex faster than you would expect, and being believed is worth the small cost.