When a young man enlists in the army he is made to conduct himself like a soldier from day one. The army knows that this way he will quickly feel like a soldier and become one.Similarly, when you speak and act confidently – even if it’s all a pretence – you feel more confident. Others assume you’re confident and treat you accordingly, which reinforces your behaviour and makes you feel even more confident.The opposite is also true. If you speak and act timidly, others assume you are timid and treat you as such, which reinforces your timidity.The ‘As If’ Principle is the fourth element of the I-T-I-A Formula©. It simply states that when you act as if you are confident, no matter how uncomfortable you feel inside, you become confident. Your feelings soon adapt to the new behaviour and, if you persevere, confidence blooms.“Assume a virtue if you have it not.William Shakespeare ” “Be somebody. If you have lost confidence in yourself,make believe you are somebody else, somebody withbrains, and act like him.Sol Hess ”
‘so Unsure, I Invented This Character.’
Actor and heart-throb Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, developed his famous persona precisely because he was lacking in confidence as a young man. He was so overweight and shy his father called him ‘a sack of shit tied up ugly in the middle’.
‘I was so unsure of myself, I would rather starve than go into a restaurant,’ he says. ‘So I built a wall of defence and invented this character Roger Moore.’
Acting ‘as if’ may be a little daunting at first, but remember, the anxiety is simply your subconscious trying to cling to old habits. Do it anyway, and it soon fades. Then the very same mechanism that once tried to stop you changing defends your new behaviour and will continue to do so until you try to make further changes.