Have you ever heard the saying, “Fake it ’till you make it”?
At first glance this may seem like a pretty lame saying, that it somehow implies that you’re deceiving someone in some way by “faking” something that you really don’t know.
However, in some cases I think it’s not only ok, but a good idea to fake it ’till you make it.
For instance, let’s say you have a speaking engagement and you’re really nervous. Definitely in this case I think it’s a great idea to fake your confidence until it finally catches up with you and is real!
Same thing goes if there is some new venture that you’re waffling about taking on – you can think about it forever but at some point you’re going to have to actually do it! Yet again you can fake the confidence and dive in.
In the end a good way to judge if your situation could be a good time to employ the “fake it ’till you make it” ploy is to sit back and ask yourself if you are holding yourself back from something simply because you lack the confidence. If the answer is yes, it’s time to dive in and start “faking” it!