The power of acting as if.

 

Uncomfortable situations are a fact of life. Whether in the professional or personal arena, events will occur which require a response from you, and many times the most effective and appropriate response will not be comfortable. So what do you do?

I recently had an experience in which a brand-new acquaintance asked me to pay for her dinner when it turned out her pre-paid debit card did not have enough on it to cover the bill.

Several thoughts immediately flashed through my mind.

So I applied one of my favorite tools: Act as if.

I simply acted as if I were clear, confident, and comfortable with my decision, and this enabled me to reply with a short, sweet, inarguable response: “I’m not going to do that.”

 

“Acting as if” is a powerful success habit.

 

Intentional, conscious acting as if is a great way to stop the self-sabotage that often occurs when we’re overly concerned with appearing kind/helpful/generous/whatever. This self-sabotage can a variety of forms:

Such self-sabotaging thoughts and beliefs have, for many of us, become such a habit that we view them as “just the way things are,” and we act as if there’s nothing we can do about it.

(Did I mention that acting as if can work for OR against you?)

There are some great lessons to be learned about self-sabotage in the movie Facing the Giants. It’s about a high-school football team that is often its own worst enemy when it comes to winning games. It’s not their physical ability that’s the problem; it’s their mental state. Watch this clip and see what I mean. (I predict it will be the best five minutes you spend all day.)

Here are just some of the points this clip powerfully makes:

Brock needed help to act as if he were truly a champion, and he was fortunate enough to have that help. What will you do to more consistently act as if you’re confident, valuable, and powerful?

If you’re not sure, here’s a possible answer: work with a compassionately ruthless butt-kicker who will challenge you to move beyond some of your self-sabotaging, limiting beliefs. By an amazing coincidence, I can help with that.

Having spent much of my life tripping myself up with habits of small thinking, I’ve learned a variety of means to get out of my own way, and I can share them with you. But, since what I do is not for everybody, it would be smart to explore that possibility with a no-risk, nobody’s-committed-to-nothin’ get-acquainted call.

If that sounds intriguing, just grab a spot in my calendar. We’ll spend some time talking and see what shakes out. If we’re not a fit for each other, we’ll exchange wishes for future success and part ways. And if we both decide we are a fit, we’ll commence kicking butt.

Will you act as if you have the curiosity and courage to explore the possibility?

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3 Responses to The power of acting as if.

  1. Pingback: Is your head about to explode? | Stepping Into Big

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