I was living in Paris when Lance Armstrong was winning everything

My French colleagues despised him

They said he was obviously a cheater

I dismissed their claims as xenophobic

I moved to the US when Armstrong was still winning Tour de France races

Telling my US colleagues that the French were bad losers

When it finally came out that he had been using drugs

I felt he had cheated on me as much as his sport

Cheating crops up in all aspects of life

People cheat in exams

Some cheat on their taxes

Many cheat on their spouses

Cheating is not entirely black and white though

There are obvious extremes 

If you get paid in cash without declaring your real income

Everybody would say you are a tax cheater

Billionaire real estate moguls employ expert accountants

Many of them pay little or no tax at all by claiming depreciation on their property

Are they legal loophole cheaters or successful businessmen

A yellow card may appear when a soccer player trips an attacking opponent

He will be branded a cheat by the opposing team and fans

Others will see him as just taking one for the team

Describing his action as a professional foul

Exposed cheaters often admit letting others down

But how do they feel inside

Knowing that they deliberately broke the rules

To gain an unfair advantage over others

Do you ever cheat on yourself

Breaking your own promises to diet or meet a deadline

Giving in to laziness or procrastination 

Be noble and learn from it so you can forgive yourself