FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT

Have you ever heard the term “fake it until you make it”?  Sounds dishonest at first glance.  What would be fraudulent about “faking” your inner critic?  The reality is your inner gremlin is constantly sending you false messages.   Competitive sports trick opposing teams with misleading moves to win games.  If our internal “opposing teams” are distracted so we can be successful, sounds like it could be a useful maneuver.  The use of “faking it until you make it” is a reliable strategy that successfully propels us through our inner challenges to achieve positive outcomes.   Would it be disingenuous then?  No, it would be a resource we use to overpower our moments of hesitation, doubt, or fear.   Using the strategy of “thinking as if” is a creative way to change outcomes and tame inner turmoil.  When we are faced with a daunting task such as giving a speech, facing a difficult conflict, or transforming our inner faultfinder, we can engage our mind to project us into a successful future.

When I first began giving speeches, I was a nervous wreck.  Negative anticipation, fear of forgetting my words, or unbridled panic created unnecessary internal strife.  Joining Toastmasters, practicing my speeches, and visualizing a positive outcome have all been tools that I have used to overcome the stress of standing in front of an audience.  I remember one time when I only slept for two hours prior to a workshop because I was tormenting over my presentation—not the wisest strategy!  I finally gave into my tiredness and simply sat down and visualized myself successfully completing the program.  All the way to the event I kept envisioning myself confidently sharing the information.  Amazingly, I was surprised how at ease I felt while presenting.  The bonus was the positive feedback.  I coached myself by “thinking as if” my presentation was already successful before I even said one word.  I became a believer in visualizing future positive outcomes and frequently using “fake it until you make it”.

Question:  How could you use the “think as if” or “fake it until you make” strategies?

AFFIRMATIONS FOR FUTURE SUCCESS

Affirmation is a “think as-if” technique that briefly describes a positive outcome you want to achieve.  Usually, affirmations define a future desired result that is constructively stated.  Examples of an affirmations are “I am healthy” versus “I want to be healthy” or “I am calm” versus “I need to calm down”.  Christopher Cascio and his research team discovered that framing affirmations as a positive future outcome was an important component for success.  They also determined that affirmations increased brain areas that were linked to positive self-worth and good decision making.  Many people know about affirmations and they will randomly attempt creating them, but usually fall short of sustaining a continuous practice.  Even if you use affirmations for a specific event, it could benefit you to expand using them on a regular basis. Reminding yourself of your potential and goodness.

An article on the www.goodtherarpy.org website outlines how to incorporate affirmations in your life.

A summary of suggestions includes:

• Set aside time daily to reflect on affirmations
• Make a simple list of goals you want to achieve and create affirmations around these objectives
• Make statements brief and to the point
• Respond to any negative thought with the positive opposite
• Make sure your affirmation is positive and stated in a way that you have already achieved it
• Vividly envision the details of a successful outcome

You have nothing to lose by using affirmations.  Give it a try and see how your life changes.

Question:  What affirmations can you create that will transform your life?

PYGMALION EFFECT

The Pygmalion Effect is based on others’ expectations about us and how those opinions modify our behavior.   It has been shown that when people have high expectations for us, our performance improves.  Robert Rosenthal conducted research on how teachers responded differently towards students when they believed they were working with high potentials.  When a teacher thought a student was a “bloomer”, they had higher expectations for achievement and provided more guidance.  The irony is that the students were not high achievers.  Rosenthal states, “When we expect certain behaviors from people, we treat them differently and that treatment is likely to affect their behavior.”  When parents, teachers, and bosses believe in us and anticipate that we can achieve success by elevating expectations, we usually rise to the challenge.

The Pygmalion Effect is a different aspect of the “thinking as if” technique.  Others are “thinking as if” for us. Evaluating what external judgments or expectations have been placed upon us provides insight into how we value or limit ourselves.  Realizing we have internalized these judgments provides opportunities to accept or reject others’ assumptions.  The other aspect of the Pygmalion Effect is how our expectations may impact family, friends, and co-workers and ultimately influence their potential.  I always find it interesting the labels that family members place on each other and how people live out those identifiers.  I was fortunate to have a friend who believed in me when I was struggling my first semester at college.  I rarely cracked a book in high school, so my study habits were lacking in college.  My friend encouraged me to bring my grades up the second semester so I would have a choice about returning to school the next year.  He believed in me and did not criticize me for my poor grades.  He challenged me to discipline myself to achieve success because he knew my potential.  The gift of that conversation reverberates in my life every day.  Because someone believed in me and challenged me to increase my efforts, I benefitted from the Pygmalion Effect.

Question:  How has the Pygmalion Effect worked in your life and/or how have you used it with others?

PLACEBO RESPONSE

The Placebo Response is a phenomenon where people react to inactive substances while believing they are receiving a curative drug or procedure.  Years of research has validated that our expectations can be a potent therapeutic instrument.  Respondents’ health may improve when a sugar pill is received, and it is believed to be the “real” thing.   Our minds, a powerful healing tool, can convince our bodies that a “fake” treatment is real.  This is a great example of “As If” thinking.  How powerful it is to know that we have at our immediate disposal a magnificent brain mechanism that can redirect messages to our bodies and improve our lives.  The key is that we must BELIEVE that the placebo will work.  BELIEVING is transformed into HOPE.  Our hope guides us to search for the positive future.  Surrendering negative expectations for new possibilities is healing.

Our beliefs about ourselves and how the world operates drives our thoughts.  Our assumptions, interpretations,

and internal stories determine what choices we make or risks we will take.  We can create our own placebo response by assessing our personal theories.  One way to initiate this process is reflect on our beliefs.  Sit down and start writing “I believe…” and see what automatically emerges.  After initial responses have surfaced, then write about the following life areas:  Work, Money, Relationships, Lifestyle, Health, Self-worth, Play, and Life Purpose.  Start each area with “I believe that work…”, “I believe that money…”, or “I believe my life purpose is…”.  Searching deeper into our core beliefs will reveal opportunities to grow and redirect our decisions.  When we change our beliefs, we empower our potentials.  Begin to “think as if” you have already achieved your goals.  This is not magical thinking; it is a new way of engaging our brains to manifest our aspirations—our HOPE.

Question:  I believe…