Fake It Until You Make It

“If you can fall in love with the process, the results will come easily.” 

If we believe that we are who we are today because of the actions we have taken, we can begin to take responsibility for our lives. Taking responsibility is the beginning of all positive change.

Have you ever considered why you made the choices you have in your life? It’s a pretty scary retrospective for me.

Turns out we take the actions we take because of the decisions we make. The decisions we make are based on who we believe we are.

Our identities – who we believe we are – drive our actions and our actions become our habits. Those habits make us who we are.

Sound backward? Let’s look at 100-year-old track champion Orville Rogers as an example. Rogers is 100 years old, still running and still winning championships. How?

Rogers says his success and longevity is not based on genetics or luck, but because of the actions he takes. Rogers states,

“Some people think I run because I can, but that’s backward, I can (run) because I do.”

Rogers takes the action of getting out of bed and going to the track based on his belief that he is a runner. He doesn’t let aches, pains or his age convince him otherwise. Rogers believes he is a runner, so he runs. Because he runs, he can continue to run and win championships.

The process goes like this.

Believe. Act. Become.

But – you say – how can I believe I am someone that I am not? Belief in something you cannot see requires faith (see Hebrews 11:1). It requires faith in who made you and that you can become who you were created to be. It requires the determination to not let your circumstances or genetics define you.

I find it helpful to find examples of people who were in worse situations than mine and achieved great things. I begin to convince myself that if they can do it, I can too.

Today you have some identities that are serving you well. You’re a great student, wife, father, husband, employee, etc. Those beliefs are causing you to take actions in line with who you believe you are. Those positive identities are producing great outcomes. Keep believing and reminding yourself of those identities as often as you can.

What about areas where you struggle? Fitness, public speaking, new job, learning a new skill – we all have plenty of them. What is the identity you desire in that area of your life? Do you know of someone who embodies the identity you desire? If not, could you find someone? Thanks to the internet you can.

What habits has this person built their identity on? Writers write. Speakers speak. Musicians practice. Athletes work out and don’t eat junk. If you look closely, these identities are all based on positive daily practices. Otherwise known as work.

To become great, these people fell in love with the process (the work) and the outcomes happened because of the work.

Let’s walk through the process. I want to be a writer. Why? Because I love learning and sharing ideas about how to build great businesses and better lives.

Believe – This is where it all begins. I must believe that I can become a great writer. I need to read about writers I admire. I want to know about their successes, their failures, their habits and how they got started. I need to visualize being a great writer. I must believe that if they could do it, I can too.

Act – What do great writers do? They write – a lot. A lot more than I do currently. But I’ve got to start small and build some wins. Those wins strengthen my identity as a writer. My strengthened writer identity will lead to more positive action in the direction of my desire. More action – more wins – stronger identity – more action. It’s a virtuous cycle!

Become – If I can fall in love with the process, the results will come easy. It won’t be easy, but if I’m enjoying the process will it feel easy?

It’s already started in my life. I miss writing when I don’t get to do it. Writing has become my excuse to learn and a huge part of how I learn. The act of writing is helping me become who I want to be and helps others as I share what I learn.

Now it’s your turn. What is an identity you want? It can be physical, mental, social – anything. What are the actions you need to take to become that person? Remember to start very small. Create some wins and let the cycle build upon itself. Learn to enjoy the process and the outcomes will look and maybe even feel easy.

I’ll close with this quote from James Clear –

“What if you started thinking of your life goals, not as big, audacious things that you can only achieve when the time is right or when you have better resources or when you finally catch your big break … but instead as tiny, daily behaviors that are repeated until success becomes inevitable?”

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