Cover Photo credit: deccanchronicle.com

Act the way you want to be

Have you ever felt like you shouldn’t be doing something because you felt under-qualified, yet circumstances made it so you are doing it?

There are a few times in my life when I felt like I was acting something I was not. Intentionally or not.

I always saw myself as an introvert. In high school, I was far from a popular kid. I wasn’t an unpopular kid either. I was one of the forgotten ones. I bet not half the people remember me there. It was a very small school. 80 people finished the last grade that year.

In my mind, I am still that kid.

But I don’t act like it. People would never believe me. I’ve somehow became way more social in the past 6 months. I did many things an introvert would probably never do, I:

led outings to dinner and other activities;
gave talks and told stories;
motivated people to go beyond their perceived capacities;
talked to strangers on planes, buses, etc.;
started a fitness squad at the co-working space;
grew my company to 8 people in a year;
celebrated Christmas last year with a total stranger I met while waiting for a bus ride.

And with every of these little things, I reflect back on who I am, in my mind, and I don’t get it.

That’s not me. I’m an impostor. I’m just a regular, long-forgotten, introvert kid. Why are people listening to me? Why are people asking me for advice?

I never asked for it. I never aimed to do these things.

Circumstances made it so people saw a different perspective of me. The more people saw me that way, the more I acted that way, until I became it. Without realizing it.

“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” — Leonardo DiCaprio

Actors do it all the time. They become who they play. For better or worse.

How To Become What You Act

Picture who you want to be.

It doesn’t have to be a real person. It can be a set of skills and qualities you want to acquire. Or things you want to remove from your life, like a bad habit.

Then act like that person. That vision. Act consistently.

Deconstruct the behaviours, starting from the end.

How did that person get there? No one gets somewhere from luck only. Trace the steps. Be precise.

Act it out. Every step of the way.

Without you realizing it, you will become it.

People will realize before you. Read the signs.

Conclusion

When you act it out, consciously or not, you train your brain to be what you act. You will feel like you’re cheating, lying to people you are acting to.

When you feel that way, that’s when you’re on the right track. Before you know it, you’ll become it.

Think like an actor. Play a role. Become that role.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)