The “fake it, til you make it” phenomenon

Throughout my 20s I was dedicated to climbing the corporate ladder.

The motto “fake it, til you make it” was a regular place I’d go to find the courage I needed to accomplish my next steps.

Little did I know, I was giving all of my power to this motto without understanding that my ability to conquer my goals had nothing to do with faking anything, and everything to do with embodying it; whatever “it” was that I was hoping to achieve. 

What I never realized was while I was telling myself to “fake it” I was already making it. In real time I was bringing whatever “it” was to life through my actions and my behaviour. For example, when I wanted to become a bartender, I asked to take on tasks that the bartenders were responsible for like counting inventory and reorganizing the bar cooler. When I wanted to become a manager, I asked to take on tasks like counting the morning cash and creating the floor plan. When I wanted to become Managing Director, I asked what I had to do to prove that I was capable of being in that role and started implementing small things into my work day to facilitate that.

In my late 20s and early 30s is when my focus shifted from business ambition to personal development and growth. I wanted to be a kinder person. Someone who judged less and loved more. I wanted to be a safe place for people and someone that they could trust. I started practising being kinder in the way I would speak to people. I would catch myself passing judgement and remind myself how unacceptable that behaviour and mindset was. I stopped talking about people and started talking about things. 

Each time I wanted to achieve something or become a better version of myself, I started by doing what that version of me would do. I started implementing those behaviours immediately. I fully embodied what it meant to be the bartender, manager, trustworthy friend, etc. 

When you start to embody the thing that you are trying to achieve, there is no faking it. The second you start doing it, you are it. 

Now, this doesn’t apply to all things, particularly if a certain level of expertise or education is required, but, you can apply it to many aspects of those roles and in many areas of your life. 

Stop giving the “fake it, til you make it” motto so much power. Recognize that the courage you need is inside you now—it’s what you’re already tapping into to start embodying the thing you want—and there is absolutely nothing fake about it.