It is a poor idea to lie to yourself

I am not sure I can fully agree with the above statement, at least not all of the time. Sometimes we lie to ourselves without realising we are actually lying. What sports psychologists will describe as self-confidence, cognitive psychologists will similarly call ‘anchoring.’ The self-confidence sports players have in their own abilities allows them to achieve what they do, without it they wouldn’t be the sports stars they are.

Anchoring or focalism is sometimes seen as a negative trait, but it can also be a very positive trait. Anchoring happens when someone focuses and relies on one piece of information, and ignores all others. ‘How can focus possibly be a negative personality trait?’ Well, imagine if you are in a terrible car accident and your mother in the seat next to you is clearly dead; however your friend in the back seat is still alive and needs help to remove herself from the wreckage. In this situation anchoring can have one of two effects on your action; you will either focus on the fact that your mother is dead next to you and your body will become paralysed with fear, or you will focus on your friend struggling in the back seat and rescue him or her, ensuring at least one of the victims survives, instead of both dying.

Although in a mild form, anchoring is your brains way of lying to itself. By focusing on your friend in the back seat your brain ignores your mother. Although it sounds almost impossible that your brain would completely ignore your mother, subconsciously it does exactly that. Anchoring is your brains way of lying to yourself, and in this situation lying to yourself is the exact opposite of a poor idea, lying to yourself might just be what saves your friend.

Sometimes you just get fixed on an idea.
(image exported from http://www.bruceharpham.ca/)