In the early noughties, there was a documentary series called ‘Faking It’, in which everyday people took on the challenge of mastering a particular skill just well enough, to convince a panel of judges that they were either an expert or highly proficient in this assigned field.
From the burger vendor masquerading as a top chef, to the painter and decorator posing as a conceptual artist - the transformations were often as surprising, as they were impressive.
For several years, my Monday nights felt rather like a real-life incarnation of this show.
Rubbing shoulders with artists and trying to pull off the perfect balance of quirky and impassioned, so that nobody would see that I hadn’t the faintest idea about life drawing.
Week after week, the act unfolded, until eventually… it was no longer an act.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say an artist was born, but a new-found confidence certainly was, and that made up for at least SOME of what was lacking in drawing ability.
As a place-holder for know-how, confidence is unrivalled, and if this particular ‘faking it’ experience has taught me anything, it’s that waiting to be good at something before starting, is counterintuitive.
Whether it’s art, cooking, learning a language, blogging… or something else, there’s a certain self-fulfilling prophesy to pretence, that makes it a powerful tool in the personal growth armoury!
Pretending to be good at something, even if you’re not, opens doors to learning the skills that can make this ‘lie’ a reality, in spite of itself.
Make it happen!
Just do it!
‘Don’t wait!’
They’re just a few examples of how this core message of impulsivity has filtered into today’s affirmation culture, and if any or all of these hashtag-worthy tropes aren’t the nudge you needed to fake being a ……(insert life goal here)….until you make it, nothing is!