We tell ourselves lies in order to live. We believe our marriages will last, even though we know half of them end in divorce. We trick ourselves into thinking our children are extraordinary, because if we saw them for who they really are — average, disobedient, smelly — the body blows of parenting would be more than we could bear. But here’s the thing: these wide-eyed delusions aren’t bad for us. In "Useful Delusions," Shankar Vedantam says that the occasional self-deception can actually contribute to your overall well-being.

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