Fake it Till YOU Make it

“What the wise old masters have told us in a thousand ways boils down to this: it is easier to act your way into feeling the way you want to feel than it is to feel your way into acting the way you want…” — Nido R Qubein

Amanda McCorquodale wrote an article entitled “8 Fake It Til You Make It Strategies backed by Science. In her study of the subject, she found researchers had proven with plenty of science that you can actually fool yourself and others into becoming more successful. It can help you find love and increase your happiness. The researchers found acting certain ways allows your brain to rehearse a new way of thinking that can set off a desired chain of events for the future. She provided 8 ways of “faking” your way into what it is you want.

1. Say Cheese: Scientists found if you want to lift your mood, force yourself to smile – Say Cheese.

2. Strike a Powerful Pose: Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School social psychologist shared her findings in a Ted Talk in 2012 that adopting a powerful posture can and does affect your body chemistry. She worked with two groups. With one she told them to adopt a power stance with chest and head lifted and arms propped on their hips. The other group was told to take on a different pose, one that had them hunched over with their arms crossed. Both groups were to do this for 2 minutes. Those taking the power pose showed a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol and an increase in testosterone.

3. Pretend YOU Know the Answer: Psychology researchers found by you expecting to know the answers, you can improve you test-taking abilities. Others become paralyzed and are called bad test-takers. This was done by using two groups with one group being told the answers would briefly flash on the screen before each question. They were told it would too quick for them to read the answer, but their subconscious would register it. In reality, the flashing answers were a random series of letters and numbers, NOT THE ANSWERS. The group being told of the flashing answers, as the same thing happened on the screen for both groups, were the ones with the highest scores. This was done several times with the same results.

4. Dress For the Job YOU Want: It has been proven time and again that wearing particular clothes associated with certain positive qualities helped improve the wearer’s performance. Dressing for success depends on both the symbolic meaning and the physical experience.

5. Listen to Happy Music: When you are in a funk, usually the last thing you want to do is turn on the song Happy, by Pharrell. Recent research found if you force yourself to listen to happy music and consciously try to become happier, this can and does lift your mood. The researchers concluded that listening to positive music may be an effective way to improve happiness, particularly when it is combined with an intention to become happier.

6. Mimic Good Leaders: Again research has proven if you have been promoted to a new position with job requirements outside your skill set, the best thing you can do is mimic someone else who displays that required skill set, even if you feel you are being a fraud…this is the fake it till you make it research put into action.

7. Feign Romantic Interest: Richard Wiseman, professor of psychology at the University of Hertfodrdshire, had two groups of fifty test what he calls the “As If Principle” – where you act as if you are a certain way you wind up coming to feel that way. One group of fifty was instructed to behave as they normally would on any date while the other group of fifty was instructed to pretend they were already in love by gazing into each other’s eyes, touching hands, and whispering secrets. Both groups were then asked how close they felt to their various partners. The second group, and this was done on numerous occasions, in each case said they felt more intimate and forty five percent said they would like another date. This did not happen with the first group.

8. Fake Confidence to Gain Influence: it turns out in group dynamics, early assertiveness becomes a self-enforcing. Researchers randomly assigned three groups of college students the task of writing two paragraphs on either their job ambitions, their duties and obligations, or their commutes. They then formed same-sex teams using students from each of the three groups and instructed them to brainstorm a hypothetical startup company. Afterwards, everyone took a survey in which they rated the extent they respected and admired the other members of their team. The researchers found the individuals who had written about their ambitions enjoyed a higher rank in the group pecking order and were perceived as being more assertive and proactive than those who had focused on their job duties or commutes. By just shifting your thoughts to your goals, the research suggests, you can project a more capable, confident persona.

What all of this tells us is we are the ones in control of our destiny. We are the ones needing to smile when we feel like wearing a frown due to all that is going on or has already happened. We are the ones needing to take on a pose of strength and confidence because it truly does affect our chemistry and helps us become stronger individuals. We need to approach life with the attitude of “I can” and in doing so we will find we have a much better ability to face life and all the questions we will encounter. We need to dress for success. That can mean different things to different people, BUT if you need to dress the part to fulfill the part, by all means change your clothes so you can match what your clothes tell others about you. We need to listen to happy and uplifting music. Much of what is on many of the radios today is depressing and demeaning. This goes for just about all of the music with lyrics, especially rap. We need to find a mentor and mimic them or fake it until we become it just like the ones we use as our role models. We need to take a romantic interest. This means develop a passion for what you do or want to do and you will find you view of life is better. Lastly, we need to fake it till we make it on our confidence. Some people are naturally confident while most are not. Many of those that are confident shouldn’t be while many that are not should be. You don’t need to be arrogant, you simply need to believe and have the optimistic “I Can” philosophy.

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox