How to Act as If to Get Yourself in a Confident Mindset

The year was 1992 and golfer Fred Couples had just won his first Masters. For those non-golf fans out there, the Masters Tournament, also known simply as ‘The Masters’, is the first of the four major golf tournaments played every year. There are numerous traditions at the Masters, with one of the most famous ones being the winner is presented a green jacket in Butler Cabin by the previous year’s winner and then being interviewed on TV.

So, Couples won the tournament and was escorted into Butler Cabin to receive his green jacket and be interviewed by CBS sports announcer Jim Nantz.

But HERE is the interesting thing – it wasn’t the first time that Nantz interviewed Couples after he had won the Masters.

“Wait, what?”, you say. “I thought you just said that it was the first time Couples had won the Masters? If that is true, how is it possible for Nantz to have conducted a post-Masters victory interview with him previously?”

Way to pay attention reader!

But interestingly, it is possible, and I will show you how in just a bit.

It all comes down to using the power of using act as if!

Do You Sometimes Feel Like an Imposter?

There is a phenomenon called the imposter syndrome which according to Psychology Today is defined as:

“a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist even in face of information that indicates that the opposite is true. It is experienced internally as chronic self-doubt, and feelings of intellectual fraudulence.” ¹

In other words, it is a lack of confidence that despite objective evidence that people are doing well, they think they will be unmasked and identified as a fraud.

What’s a bit surprising, at least to me, is that many of us have suffered from it at some point in our lives. Studies have shown that over 70% of people have reportedly experienced it at some point in their lives.

While there are many ways to counteract a lack of confidence to help us do something, the one we will discuss today as you saw in the introduction is called…act as if.

What Does Act as If Mean?

Act as if simply means acting as if you already are where you want to be.  The idea is to act like, talk like, dress like, walk like and feel like the person who has already accomplished their goal or objective.

Why Does it Work?

Jack Canfield, the author of The Success Principles, explains it as follows:

“Acting as if sends powerful commands to your subconscious mind to find creative ways to achieve your goals. It programs the reticular activating system (RAS) in your brain to start noticing anything that will help you succeed,” ¹

As A.J. Jacobs, author of Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey, said on Tim Ferriss’ podcast, “It’s easier to act your way to a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting” ⁵. In other words, when we act a certain way, it affects our mind – the outer affects the inner.

When Should We Act as If?

You can use act as if both reactively and proactively.

Use it reactively when…

…you get a case of imposter syndrome of when you think you cannot do something, as author and success coach Tony Robbins says:

“When people come to me and say they can’t do something, I say, “Act as if you could do it”. They usually reply, “Well, I don’t know how.” So I say, “Act as if you did know how. Stand the way you would be standing if you did know how to do it. Breathe the way you’d be breathing if you did know how to do it right now. Make your face look as if you could do it right now.” As soon as they stand that way, breathe that way, and put their physiology in that state, they instantly feel they can do it.” ⁴

Use it proactively when…

…you already have determined what you want to be, as Canfield says:

“Once you choose what it is you want to be, do, or, have, all you have to do is start acting as if you already are being, doing, or having it. How would you act if you already were a straight-A student, top salesperson, highly paid consultant, rich entrepreneur, world-class athlete, best-selling author, internationally acclaimed artist, sought-after speaker, or celebrated actor or musician? How would you think, talk, act, carry yourself, dress, treat other people, handle money, eat, live, travel and so forth?” ¹

Some Strategies for How to Act as If

In her famous TED Talk, researcher Amy Cuddy pointed out “that our bodies change our minds and our minds can change our behavior, and our behavior can change our outcomes.”

So, by changing our physiology we can change our minds which will, in turn, change our behavior and thus our outcomes.

When you are confronted with something you think you cannot do but would like to do, ask yourself the following questions:

(1)  How would I stand if I knew I could do it?

(2) How would I speak?

(3) How would I breathe?

In other words, stand like you know you can do it, speak like you know you can do it and breathe like you know you can do it!

The idea is to put yourself in the physiology you would have if you were certain you could do it. As Robbins says:

“Make your stance, breathing and face reflect the physiology you’d have if you knew you could do it. Now note the difference between this state and the one you were in. If you are congruently maintaining the right physiology, you will feel “as if” you can handle what you didn’t think you could before.” ⁴

Start now, be who you want to be and then most importantly go out and take the actions that you need to take to be that person!

Back to Fred Couples and Jim Nantz

Recall how I said in the introduction that Jim Nantz interviewed Fred Couples in Butler Cabin after Couples had won his very first Masters in 1992.

I also said that it wasn’t the first time that Nantz had interviewed Couples after winning the prestigious tournament.

I think it’s time that Jim Nantz clarified things for us!

Back in 2013, he introduced his good friend Fred Couples as he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

During his speech, Nantz said the following:

“Never underestimate the power of a dream. We would sit in our dorm room, and we would play act the Butler Cabin ceremony. I figured it was good for both of us, we both could learn something.” ³

That’s right, Jim Nantz and Fred Couples were college roommates at the University of Houston in the late 1970s. Back then, Couples’ dream was to become a professional golfer and win the Masters, and Nantz’ dream was to work as a sportscaster for CBS Sports. So, they would act as if by acting out the Butler Cabin scene over and over with Nantz the future sportscaster interviewing Couples the future Masters champion.

Fourteen years later, the power of act as if helped them both realize their dreams.

Until next time, act as if, keep dreaming, keep taking action, and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

Use it or Lose It

To act as if, ask yourself the following 3 questions when you are confronted with something you think you cannot do but want to do:

(1)  How would I stand if I knew I could do it?

(2)  How would I speak?

(3)  How would I breathe?

Then stand like you know you can do it, speak like you know you can do it, breathe like you know you can do it and then go out and take the actions you need to in order to do it!

When to Use It

Use it during those times where you lack confidence or proactively when you know what you want to do.

What Do You Think?

Have you ever used the concept of act as if? If not, do you think you will use it? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

1 The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are/transcript?language=en

3 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/good-thinking/201310/do-you-feel-impostor

4 Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins

5 https://podcastnotes.org/2018/11/05/jacobs/