Faking It 101.

October 12, 2011 by Gail
Filed under VPL

If the ’90’s had a catch-cry, it was this, “fake it till you make it.” In other words, ‘act as if’ or imitate confidence so that it produces success in you. The upshot being, said catch-cry might generate some ‘real’ confidence where there previously wasn’t any. So, is this a self-purposing snow-job?

VPL

VPL is short for Very Penneylane. They’re my take on everyday lessons from life. Lessons learnt and others where I missed the boat completely. Life’s long or short, depending on which end of the paddle you draw. Either way, being stuck up a creek without one makes for some interesting observations.

About that Lesson

Years ago, Colleen Hill, H.O.D. in Physical Education at Palmerston North Teacher’s College (PNTC) was my ski coach. Her dream after she retired was to be a ski bum in Aspen, Colorado where she was a frequent skier. But long before she was my ski coach, Colleen was my running mate.

We both slogged out near daily runs up Pork Chop, that deceptive undulating hill heading out towards Aokautere and on the way to Massey University in our lunch hour. In the morning and separately, we ran as well and then did it all again in the evening.

In 1981, Colleen was training for the Veteran Games in Christchurch, she won gold on her debut. I was in the grandstand with her son and daughter that day, cheering her on across the finish line. She taught me more than a catch-cry. She single-handedly hard wired the ethos of solid commitment no-matter-what in to me until it was second nature. She modelled it (by getting on the hill with me everyday) and with generous but focused encouragement off the hill. We ran together often.

My Own ‘no-matter-what’ Moment
As fate would have it, I got a chance to eyeball my own ‘no-matter-what’ commitment when I tore my tarsometatarsal ligament while playing indoor basketball (one of Colleen’s other haul-me-into team plays!) Still you can’t fault focused determination (or wonky thinking!)

On crutches for over a month, I developed a way to ‘run’ on them. Both crutches forward together, solid plant on the ground in front of me, then a whole body swing-through to land on my right foot. At the time, it was adequate for the job but just recently Josh Sundquist demo-ed an advanced version of running on crutches. You have to see it to believe it. I wish I’d known then what I know now, it’s so efficient.

Colleen ran because she loved chocolate and found running was her best and shortest route to being able to do that long term. Me, I ran because I’d become addicted to the ‘runner’s high.’ So, does ‘faking it till you make it’ achieve the same outcome as a solid commitment no matter what?

And if you fake it but lose heart, are you likely to give up altogether rather than push through? Is this that self-purposing snow-job I was talking about earlier? Or is faking it till you make it the kidolescent phase before solid commitment? Does it even matter if the point is to eat chocolate or run because you like the rush?

What is Confidence?
Me, I think it’s all of it — so when you do push through, the confidence you get is the reward for having backed yourself. Good on you!

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