Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Fake It Til You Make It Has Its Place and Purpose

I'm finding out that "Fake It Til You Make It" has it's valid applications.

I could totally derail myself right there and start thinking of all the times it's not the way to do things, and all the implications of all of those, and how it's dishonest, and how self-deception is damaging and...

Well.

I'm trying to not derail.

Anyway.

Today, I was

SO.

EXHAUSTED.

Like dozing off mid-sentence tired.

So I got everyone settled in with an activity, popped the toddler in his bed, & took the preschoolers to my bed for a quick "power nap" (that's what they call a short nap these days, right?).

My alarm went off 20 minutes later, and although I'd slept hard, I did not feel energized or "powered up".

All I felt was "3 more hours please?"

But that wasn't happening.

Enter "Fake It Til You Make It".

Basically, you pretend you are a actress/actor and you take on a role, and play it well.

My role was that of the energized, chipper, well-accomplished, farm-wife mom.

And you know what? After I trotted blithely out to the back of the meadow to retrieve our "rough work" broom, checked on the corn in the garden with one of my little guys, swept a smooth spot in the driveway and settled down to a 15 minute game of marbles with 5 of my monkeys, I was "feeling it" a bit. Toss in some squealing over close shots and honestly trying to manage flipping a marble straight, and I think I'll make it till bedtime.

Self-Talk is really powerful.

Both Ways.

Tell yourself you're tired, exhausted, beat, worn out, can't make it til the end of the day, just don't have the "oomph" for that task, etc., and it's true.

But take on that role, and really try...

Oh yes you can! I know you do it when you're in the middle of scolding your child for not telling you about the jug of milk lying open on its side propping the fridge door open for hours and the phone or doorbell rings- you turn into June Cleaver! (yes, I'm that old)

So do it again. Convince that invisible audience, convince your child, convince yourself that you do in fact have the energy to pull this off well. With a smile, even.

Because if you had to, you could. And it feels so much better than just slogging through thinking about how hard it is.

And, most likely, you'll get some momentum going and actually feel more energetic and maybe even accomplish more that you were aiming for!

I did.

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