A bumper sticker on a car in front of me reads: In a world of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Truth heals. But how? And why? And what good does it do anyway? Plenty.

Telling the truth is about freedom. It is about joy and peace and health and living a life that is meaningful, powerful, connected, and loving. Ultimately, telling the truth is about feeling good in your own skin, unencumbered, free, and having the life that you want to live.

So why do lies so often seem nicer, tidier, easier? The truth is often uncomfortable – because so much shame and guilt are attached to it, because it has been suppressed and left unspoken for years.

Both human development and the evolution of life share another significant trend – a journey towards greater freedom from physical constraints.

Some early evolutionary examples of increasing degrees of freedom are the processes by which living systems obtained energy. Evolutionary biologists believe that early living cells used simple fermentation. These bacteria broke sugar molecules down into smaller molecules such as carbon dioxide and water, taking for their own use the energy which bound these molecules together.

We are all creatures of habit. Everything we repeatedly do, say and think is as a direct result of our entrenched habits. Habits are those actions or reactions which are on auto-pilot, which we do without consciously having to think about them. The success you enjoy in your life, or the lack thereof, is directly related to the nature of your habits while your habits are the product of your beliefs. To enjoy permanent, positive change in your life, you must change your negative beliefs and their associated habits.

“Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.” – Saul Bellow

While it’s important, when scaling back, to try to eliminate non-essential expenses as much as possible, you can’t change everything all at once. And even if you tried, you’d be less likely to be successful – drastic changes don’t stick as well as small ones do.

So start small when you start changing your financial habits. Want to save money? Cut back on eating out a bit – if you currently eat out 5 times a week, for example, try doing it only 2-3 times and save the difference. That’s a great way to start.