When I was younger I was very shy and whenever I felt that confidence was necessary I would play a little trick on my mind. If I had an important job interview for example, I’d pretend that I was that cliche charismatic guy that everyone wants to be around. I was always shocked when it actually worked. By pretending my weakness were my strengths they failed to define my character. But it was always a bit uncomfortable because I would find myself in situations that demanded skills that I wasn’t sure I had. So again I would pretend like I had them and pretty soon I didn’t need to pretend anymore.
As Amy Cuddy said “Don’t fake it till you make it, fake it till you become it.”
Inspired by this great talk by Amy Cuddy.