Is lying to protect people's feelings good?

This question has been long pondered by humanity. Many people have had a very hard time trying to decide if they are going to lie or not. Many common examples is when you watch a friend's awful play and the ask you how it is or they ask you how an outfit looks on them. This can be very troubling to many people, because they don't want to hurt their friends feelings nor do they want to lie to them. I believe the best way to do it is be honest, but not cruel. That means you should not flat out lie to them and say "oh the play was wonderful. I would totally come to see it again" or "oh my god you look so awful in that outfit. You look like a blind person picked out you outfit."  What I believe you should do is do something commonly referred to a the complement sandwich. The best way to do this is to start of by saying something you like about said play or outfit like "I really liked this one scene. I found it really funny." or "I really like the style of the top.". This first compliment allows the person to understand that you mean the best to them, because you are also kind to them. The second part of the sandwich is the criticism. This is the critical standpoint were you can tell you friend what you really though of it, such as "The play didn't seem to have much of a plot to it" or "the top is really just unflattering on you though."  This part allows your friend to understand  what you really think of what they are asking about. The last part of this sandwich is the suggested way to fix it. This means that you should suggest a way to fix the problem, such as saying "you should add in a line to clarify what is going on" or "you should get the top in the next size up because it would fit you better."  This method of giving people criticism allows you to state what you really feel with out your friends feelings getting hurt. Don't feel obligated to lie though.

What is Good Competition?

The ways viewing competition have gone drastically in two directions. The first direction is where the competition means everything to them and if they don't win it they act like the are going to die.  Competing with these people is no fun, because it takes the enjoyment out of the actual competition.  The people who view these competitions this way are normally very cruel to you in the competition and you don't want to be around them because of it.  Also, the people who are this way tend to also act very snooty to others when they don't do as well in the competition or when they mess up.  There is no reason to be snooty and or  cruel to anyone over a competition even if it is your life long passion.  It's just very bad sportsmanship, because the people who are competing in it are most likely just doing it for fun.  The other direction people tend to go in when they view competitions is that it's only for fun and it doesn't really matter.  These people are also no fun to compete against, because they don't try their hardest and they tend to be really passive.  Most people like some competition and if they are competing against or with people who don't care and don't try their hardest they don't have any fun, because when and if they win they want to know they won because they were the best at it and not just the person who didn't care about it.  The people who view competition in either of these ways really don't get the point of competition.  Competition is a fun way to test and compare your abilities against other people and at the same time learning from what they know.  Competition is not a way to prove you are better then anyone else nor is it something that just doesn't matter.  The best way to have fun in a competition is when people view it in a way that says that they care about what they are competing in, but don't think that if they win they will somehow be better then anyone else.  Competitions really need more of these people instead of the other two, so the next time you go to a competition try to be the person who sees what competition is really about.