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.
Photo by Brian Bielmann