I don’t think people necessarily enjoy lying as much as they enjoy the peace that is earned by telling the lie. People, especially those who grew up with strict parents, are conditioned to lie early on. If you are caught lying about something bad you did, you are going to get punished. If you tell the truth about the bad thing you did, you get punished. If you will be punished either way, why not lie? A rational person quickly learns that lying is almost always preferable to the truth, because sometimes you get away with it.

If you are good at it, and you lie convincingly enough, it becomes second nature to manage people’s perceptions through a web of misinformation, feigned ignorance, half-truths, and strategic omissions.

Lying is socially expedient.

It’s easier on every front and makes everyone happier. That’s why people do it.

The negative consequences of it are often far off and in the future. In that way it’s sort of like having poor life habits… you don’t pay the consequences till much later.

And the negative social consequences for being truthful are usually immediate.