Tool For Tuesday: Act As If.

Academy Award (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know the goal is honesty here, not an Academy Award.

But this is a great tool. It’s a skill. If we act as if…. then the feelings catch up.

After the death of her father, Joelle said she could barely function. She had to act as if she were brave. She didn’t have the courage at first but she said she acted the way someone with courage would act. And slowly, she was able to move through her grief and reach a place of acceptance. And then the courage came along.

Trying to write a book? Act as if you take yourself seriously. Act as if you believe in yourself. As if you have the discipline to go to your desk and sit on your chair and work.

Trying to get promoted? Act as if you think you’re promotion material. Do what someone about to be promoted would do.

Dislike your neighbor? Act as if you sincerely like her. Oh yes, pray for her health, happiness and prosperity. Pray sincerely. The heart will follow.

Want to be a strong role model for your children? Act, act, act. Find someone you admire and act this new role. It really does work.

Act as if you have already experienced the transformation you are hoping for. The transformation will follow. We can make the magic in our own lives.

Today’s Tool For Tuesday: Act as if…and you will be astonished at what you can accomplish.

About dianabletter

Diana Bletter is the author of several books, including The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women (with photographs by Lori Grinker), shortlisted for a National Jewish Book Award. Her novel, A Remarkable Kindness, (HarperCollins) was published in 2015. She is the First Prize Winner of Moment Magazine's 2019 Fiction Contest. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, tabletmag, Glamour, The Forward, The North American Review, Times of Israel, and is a reporter for Israel21C, and many other publications. She is author of Big Up Yourself: It's About Time You Like Being You and The Mom Who Took off On Her Motorcycle, a memoir of her 10,000-mile motorcycle trip to Alaska and back to New York. She lives in a small beach village in Western Galilee, Israel, with her husband and family. She is a member of the local hevra kadisha, the burial circle, and a Muslim-Jewish-Christian-Druze women's group in the nearby town of Akko. And, she likes snowboarding and climbing trees.

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5 Responses to Tool For Tuesday: Act As If.

Marylin Warner says:

May 28, 2013 at 11:36 am

Oh, this is a GREAT one, Diana. It brings back soooo many memories. My mother’s philosophy on cramps was to NOT lie on a heating pad chomping on Midol. Taking a Midol was okay, but then life went on, DOING SOMETHING: walking the dog, washing the car, throwing the softball for the little neighbor boy, and ACTING THE WAY I WANTED TO FEEL. Now you’ve added more great ideas, especially for the writing. THANK YOU! (I feel another blog about my mother coming on, and I’ll mention you, too!)

Tracy Campbell says:

May 30, 2013 at 10:10 am

ACT…that’s the key. If we wait until we “feel” like it, it won’t happen.
And praying for others is the most important key. 🙂
Another awesome post, Diana.

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Daniela says:

June 3, 2013 at 7:16 am

I found you via Marylin’s blog and I am glad I did! Because this post speaks such truth! I can vouch for it from my own experience … I acted as if I can write in English -:)! It worked!

- dianabletter says:
  
  June 5, 2013 at 3:47 pm
  
  Hello Daniela, You write beautifully in English…And you can always claim poetic license. Thank you for writing! Keep in touch!