Faking it until you make it

I'm a strong believer in the power of positive thinking. Sure, it's hokey. But I'm okay with hokey. One of my favorite mantras is "fake it until you make it." In Thomas's early days, I said it to myself at least once every hour until I got the hang of our new life These days, I only need it on bad days or when I'm in socially uncomfortable situations and need a self-confidence boost.

Believe it or not, I don't roll out of bed every morning with a smile on my face and a singing bluebird on my shoulder. In fact, if there's a bird singing even outside my window, I'm likely to try to blast it with mind bullets. On those mornings, I fake a smile. I fake a good attitude. I go in singing like a bluebird to my little boy like I was woken by angel kisses instead of baby cries or my cotton picking alarm clock. It might take me a couple of hours or it might not happen until the next day, but if I fake it long enough, the smile on my face will become genuine and my mood will improve.

When I'm somewhere that I don't really want to be surrounded by people that I don't really know, I fake it again. I put a smile on my face. I start small talk conversations with strangers. I assert myself fully into the painful awkwardness that 'grinners' create.I fake it until I strike up a conversation with someone that talks back to me and I can relax a little. Or I fake it until it's time to go home. But more often than not, I can fake being extroverted until I convince myself that I am extroverted for the short time period that I need to social.

As I write this I realize that I sound like I'm not being myself. That's not true. It's more like I'm making a little extra effort to be myself until my true self can get with the program. I AM normally smiling and talkative. I do love getting my little boy out of his crib every morning for snuggles. I'm just not always in the best mood when I need to be. When that happens, I fake it until I can make the situation better.

Next time you are having a less than awesome day, try faking it until you can make your day awesome. I bet you'll come to believe in the power of positive thinking too.