We all like to embellish stories to put us in the best light. Some people do it more than others.
Some of that is due to self consciousness. Individuals may feel inferior and want to put themselves in a better light. Others are lonely so they do it so that people will like them and want to spend more time with them. Others have a sense of importance so it becomes a form of bragging.
The 2003 Broadway musical Wicked has lyrics that address this kind of behavior. One of the songs is called “Popular.” The lyrics go: Celebrated heads of state or especially great communicators. Did they have brains or knowledge. Don’t make me laugh. They were popular.
Another song is called “Wonderful.” The lyrics go: We believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. We call it “history.” A man’s called a traitor or liberator. A rich man’s a thief or philanthropist. Is one a crusader or ruthless invader? It’s all in which label is able to persist.
The need for people to do this kind of embellishment comes from their psychological makeup. It often comes from underlying feelings of inadequacy. Most of the time, it is of no particular consequence. However, individuals in certain positions can indeed affect history as the Wicked lyrics suggest.
I recently studied some ancient Egyptian history. The Pharaoh Ramses II was obsessed with how he was going to be viewed by history. Ancient Egypt had a lot of buildings. We know about many of them.
What we have found is that Ramses tended to carve his name over that of the original builder. That was to make it look like he was the one who built everything. That was believed to be the case in ancient time. Modern science has disproven it.
In schools they are taught about a great battle between the Persians and Ramses. In Egypt they are taught how Ramses won the great battle. In Iranian schools they are taught how Persia won the same great battle.
The need to increase self importance is clearly not new. It is another one of those psychological defense mechanisms. If someone tells a story that puts them into a better light, it may increase their self confidence. It may make them more fun to be around and address their feelings of loneliness. It may feed their feelings of self importance.
In any case, there is usually a need for positive feedback from others as a part of it. Therefore, when we realize that is the case, we need to provide the psychological support that the individual needs. If we belittle them, it might cause more harm than we think.