Fake It Till You Make It

American psychologist William James in his work "The Gospel of Relaxation" (www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/jgospel.html) said that not only can emotions drive our actions, but our actions can drive our emotions.  In other words, if you act differently, you will feel differently.  For example, if you're struggling with self-doubt, act confidently and eventually you will feel confident.

Can we translate this to the written word?  Is this theory something that bloggers can make use of?
According to D. Matriccino of Writer's Digest, it is (http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/fun/fake-it-til-you-make-it).  Mr. Matriccino says that it's a neuroplasticity thing.  If you keep telling yourself that you are an expert, that you are a professional, sooner or later your brain will believe it.  As Mohammed Ali, the great boxer, once said:  "To be a great champion, you must believe you are the best.  If you're not, pretend you are."  According to Mr. Matriccino, sooner or later, you won't be pretending.

On the other hand, blogger Jeffrey Davis of Tracking Wonder, (http://www.productiveflourishing.com/confidence-make-it-dont-fake-it/) thinks the "fake it till you make it" theory isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Why not?

People do tend to be charmed by charisma.  Some consider it a way to compensate for incompetence and to overcome self-doubt.  However, according to Jeffrey Davis:  "Because faking it gets rewarded so often, we put more emphasis on learning to project confidence than on acquiring actual competence."

Jeffrey goes on to say that the "fake it till you make it" strategy is a result of the mistaken belief that humility equals weakness.  People in turn try to ooze confidence to convince others that they know what they're talking about.  In fact, it's vogue to hack education, to hack business and to hack mastery.  Everybody's an expert in their field.

However, the "fake it till you make it" advice is short sighted.  You can't be someone you're not.  The strategy diminishes merit and hard work.  Remember, there is no substitute for experience.  So, if you're a brand new blogger, come clean, admit it.  Yes, you won't come off as an expert.  But at the same time, you will be genuine.  And your readers will appreciate your candour.

Blogger Darrell Vesterfelt (http://goinswriter.com/fake-it/) agrees.  In the world of business, people feel a tremendous pressure to perform.  The blogosphere is no different.  As a new blogger, Darrell tried to pass himself off as a professional.  However, he only told his readers half the story:  he left out the part about sleeping on a futon in his friend's guestroom.  He was an impostor.

Furthermore, using the "fake it till you make it" strategy, Darrell lost sight of two important things in his writing. Firstly, he forgot about the message; he focussed on what others wanted him to say rather than what he wanted to say.  He neglected telling the weaknesses about his story.  "The irony is our weaknesses are what make our messages believable, because they are what make us, as storytellers and communicators, relatable and reliable."  Readers want to read a blog that is reliable.  See my post about consistency at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/consistency-is-key-to-blogging-success.html.

Secondly, Darrell lost sight of his craft.  He wasted so much time and energy on faking it that he had none left for legitimate writing and for real growth.  In fact, he stopped writing on a daily basis, he stopped reading resources and he stopped inviting critiques of his work.  Darrell reminds us that if we can't write, we can't share our message.  "Don't lose your message because you're concerned with developping a persona."

Yes, confidence is important to writers.  However, you want to acquire it the right way.  Turn the saying around:  "Make it, Don't Fake It".  Then you'll feel that you've earned it.

http://herscoop.com/files/2013/08/mtzX6Dt.jpg

Feed Your Burning Desire

"But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

Maybe you have a burning desire to run a marathon.  When you are setting your life's goal, make sure you pick a goal that you really want.  If you pick the wrong goal, you will lack the passion to achieve it.

One blogger suggests that you ask yourself the question:  "If I won a million dollars tomorrow, would I still have the same goal?"  If the answer is yes, then chances are, you have chosen the right goal. The blogger suggests that you keep notes of other people's success.  Find a companion who is on the same journey as you.  And believe in yourself:  "Stay out of your own way."  Self-doubt is the biggest hurdle to your success.

I think of a little boy named Glenn Cunningham who, along with his brother Floyd, used to light the stove in the one room schoolhouse they attended.  One day, the teacher arrived at the school with the other students to find it engulfed in flames.  She dragged a semi-conscious Glenn out of the burning building.  He was rushed to the county hospital.  Floyd, on the other hand, died in the fire.

The doctor told his mother he likely wouldn't survive.  Glenn overheard the conversation and resolved that he would live, despite the burns that covered the bottom half of his body.  After a few days, the doctor told his mother that although he had survived, he would likely be a cripple his entire life.  His legs just hung lifeless on his body.  The doctor recommended amputation, but Glenn would have none of it.

When Glenn went home, he was confined to a wheelchair.  But his mother would massage his legs everyday, hoping for the best.  Glenn had a burning desire to walk coupled with a strong faith in God. His favourite verse became Isaiah 40:31 which he would recite daily.  One day, Glenn's mother wheeled him outside into the yard on a sunny day.  Glenn resolved that he was going to stand up that day.  He squirmed out of the wheelchair, crawled over to the picket fence, dragged himself to a standing position, and pulled himself stake by stake along the fence.  He determined to do this exercise everyday, wearing a path in the grass on the inside of the fence.

After several weeks of walking with the aid of the fence, Glenn figured out how to walk unassisted beside the fence.  One day, he walked to the schoolhouse.  He set his next goal as running.  Once again, he tackled the task with a burning desire.  Eventually, he started running to school.  He would run just for the sheer joy of running.  In college, he joined the track team.

Glenn wasn't finished with his goals, however,  Once he mastered running, he determined that he would compete at the Olympics.  In 1932, in Los Angeles, he placed fourth in the 1500 metres, just shy of an Olympic medal. And in 1936, he competed at the Berlin Olympics where he won a silver medal in the 1500 metres. Glenn's burning desire fueled his goals.  As if that wasn't enough, in 1933, at Madison Square Garden, he ran the world's fastest mile.

Source:  "The Power of Determination", Chicken Soup for the Soul (1993) at http://www.chickensoup.com/book-story/36261/the-power-of-determination.

wordpress.com