William James is considered the father of modern psychology. He once said: “If you want a quality, act as if you already have it.”

Richard Wiseman wrote a whole book on the power of that idea. He calls it “The As If Principle.”

Get this: There’s an astonishing amount of research that demonstrates the fact that the quickest way to get the quality you’re looking for is to ACT AS IF you already have it.

Now, to be clear, I have to say that I’ve always had a bit of an allergy to the whole “fake it till you make it” approach. And… I still do.

But…

This is a bit different. Let go of all the self-help silliness that can go along with the “fake it till you make it” approach and think about a quality you’d like more of.

What is it?

What one quality would you like to have more of?

Happiness? Confidence? Willpower?

Well, guess what?

The research is clear: Act like you have that quality and, sure enough, you’ll have more of it.

Want more happiness? Act like a happy person. How would you do that? Smile. Laugh. Sing. Dance. All of that stuff has been proven to boost your happiness. Do what you do when you’re happy and, as goofy as it may sound to you, you will FEEL more happy.

Want more confidence? Same deal. Act like you’re confident. Stand up tall. Walk powerfully. Strike a power pose. And… Boom. You’ll feel more confident.

Want more willpower? ACT like you have more willpower. Do the thing you said is important. Just get started on the project you want to rock. And… Yep. You have more willpower.

So, Today’s +1. Two steps.

Step 1. Identify the quality you’d like more of.

Step 2. Act like you already have it.

Act As If #254

What Quality Do You Want?

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The As If Principle