During this week, Halloween 2019, kids and adults across the country will be putting on masks and costumes and pretending to be someone or something else than who they really are. Young and old love this holiday and the tradition of dressing up and taking on another identity.
After the party, or after the trick-or-treating ends, they take the masks off and they are back to their regular selves. But what would happen if they never took the mask off? What if they kept acting like the character, person, or being, they were pretending to be?
The mindset of “fake it till you make it” is something that many have heard, but the great Dr. Rob Gilbert on Success Hotline has shared with me over the years to “fake it until you feel it.” If indeed the person continues to act in costume, and in the manner of that person, they would eventually begin to take on those characteristics for real. This happens to actors and movie stars, as well as undercover law-enforcement, as well in real life. What if we did this as educators and leaders? What if we put on a mask to be more positive? Or lead with more confidence? Or only look for the good in others? If we continued to act in these ways that we are deficient in, would we take on those characteristics?
That is the mindset of fake it until you feel it. I feel blessed and humbled when people tell me they like my energy. Well despite what some people think, I am not the energizer bunny, and I do not have an ever-running internal engine. I do get tired, and I do get down, but on moments when I need to be energetic, I turn it back on. Even if I’m not feeling it. That is where the fake it until you feel it comes in to play. Sometimes I do have to put on a mask for that energy, even though I am not feeling at my best, or I’m not energized at that moment.
So on this Halloween eve, I challenge you: What are some masks that you would like to put on that maybe don’t come easy to you, but you wish did? Is it confidence? Is it public speaking? Is it listening better? Whatever that mindset is that maybe doesn’t come so easy to you, or you are not strong in and try it? Put that mask on intentionally and continue to act and behave in those ways. Again, Dr. Gilbert shares in his Success Hotline (+1-973-743-4690) that your actions change your attitude, and your emotions change your moods, so act in the manner that you would want and you will begin to develop those traits in real life. Happy Halloween everyone!
Quote: “Halloween is an opportunity to be really creative” – Judy Gold
