Should We Really Fake it ‘Til We Make it?

You have probably heard the popular saying, “fake it ’til you make it.” You may have heard this from your boss, a friend, or even a family member. Sometimes it’s helpful advice and other times, it can be discouraging or even harmful. Therefore, I want to help answer the question of whether we should really fake it ’til we make it.

Should We Really Fake it ‘Til We Make it?

I remember the first time I heard this phrase. It was my first year working in the public relations office for my college and I struggled greatly with taking phone calls. I was not good at hiding the confusion in my voice when a caller didn’t make sense. Nor did I do a good job of acting like I could meet any and every need of the caller. Calls freaked me out and I didn’t really understand why. One day my boss came up to me, and she said, “When you take phone calls, fake it ’til you make it.’ Sound enthusiastic and tell the caller that you will find an answer for them. Don’t act confused.”  This advice kind of made me mad at first. The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense.

According to Psychology Today, “Acting ‘as if’ doesn’t mean being phony or inauthentic. It’s about changing your behavior first and trusting the feelings will follow.”

On the other hand, faking it ’til you make it can be unhelpful advice. An article from Change my Life Coaching recommends practicing until you make it instead. The article discusses how faking it can keep you from learning and can give others a false impression of yourself. Therefore you should face it ’til you make it rather than fake it. Even if you try and fail, get up back up and try again until you are successful.

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