Most humans enjoy an opportunity to feel superior, which is a reasonable ambition when kept within decent boundaries — like, enjoyed only occasionally, and not taken too seriously.

A way to achieve that sensation is to compare oneself to others by asking certain questions. One useful example is, “How much do I lie to myself?”

To perceive another person accurately, whether that other is a boss, your intimate partner, or a crooked politician flapping its jaws on national television, the first step in any case is to be equipped with a high quality and degree of self-awareness. That is the success secret referenced in the title of this page. Here is a quotation:

What Does “Pull the Wool Over Someone’s Eyes” Really Mean? It’s a colorful way to describe the act of deceiving someone — specifically, hiding the truth or fooling someone into believing something false.

Your ability to recognize an erroneous thought process in someone else cannot exist without first identifying whatever brand of BS you tend to afflict yourself with on a regular basis. To recognize when you are trying to pull the wool over your own eyes is a supremely important psychological skill. To do that kind of detective work is to set oneself on the bright road toward having a superpower, and there are side effects.

In many cases, an individual who thinks about this kind of thing will become a better person, because (1) they wanted to, and because (2) they set about it in an effective way.

Then, there are people (hopefully not as many) who are perfectly capable of recognizing their own evil propaganda, and are fully aware of the poisonous lies they tell themselves, but who respond to that knowledge by not giving a damn.

In either case, the most important underlying factor is the same. For example, the paramount trait shared by genuinely great professional comedians (and the reason why they are quoted here so often) is a stubborn refusal to lie to themselves. With enough persistence, this resolve leads to improved, enlightened behavior, along with an enhanced ability to turn other people on to these revelations.

Poisonous individuals, on the other hand, while sharing the same ruthless self-honesty, have no desire or intention to abandon their destructive ways.

It is important to decide to be truthful with others, but it’s not enough. Necessary, but not sufficient — because that can’t happen unless and until the other thing happens first: the resolve to be scrupulously truthful with oneself.

About “the disease that actively wants to kill you,” comedian Sam Grittner wrote:

Addiction can rationalize anything. It will convince you to sell everything you own, to walk through fire, to fight entire armies, all to make the voice inside you telling you that you’re a piece of shit, that you don’t matter, that you’re weak, that the world would be better of without you, shut up for one second.

Lotus Weinstock was a major figure at the renowned Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and extremely close to Lenny Bruce in the last part of his life. Her book The Lotus Position, published in 1982, described the two years she spent on prescription diet pills:

I spoke only in rhyme and my house was arranged in alphabetical order… Armchairs, bed, couch, dresser, and end tables. I lied to myself like most “peak freaks” do. I told myself I was taking the pills to lose weight but I just wound up eating faster!

Written by Pat Hartman. First published January 23, 2026.

Sources:

“Pull the Wool Over Someone’s Eyes — Meaning, Definition, and Usage Explained,” Grammardiary.com, August 20, 2025.

“Addiction,” Medium.com, July 24, 2018.

Image Copyright: Larisa-K/Pixabay.