Years ago, when I was a twenty-seven-year-old grad student I
found myself completely paralyzed.
No, I’m not talking about physical paralysis. I’m talking
about a mental one, I’m talking about having a burning desire to tackle
something that felt incredibly challenging, even downright scary, and I
couldn’t do it. Only it wasn’t exactly optional, it was something required of
me at my job, a task I was completely capable of performing, and I found myself
stricken by stuck-ness.
I simply couldn’t ‘see’ myself doing it. In other words, it
was my own view of myself that was holding me back.
As you enter into this new year and you begin your list of
new goals or resolutions, it’s easy to become myopic, to focus your energies into defining WHAT your goals will be and the logistics of your new schedule, rather than spending more time on the WHY question.
Why am I not doing
those things I say I want to do?
Because at the heart of any real, enduring changes to your life,
is You, and all that invisible emotional baggage you carry around with you. After all, it will be your consistent actions and follow-through each day that determine whether
your dream becomes a living, breathing reality. And this is where the insight about
your own self-image, those old beliefs and feelings you have about yourself
will begin to surface
What happens if you don’t feel completely ready for aspects of your new undertaking?
What if you’re walking around with an outdated image of yourself that undermines your self-confidence?
What if underneath all your excitement about your latest goal, you can’t actually see yourself completing it?
If you’re like me, there will be times when you will need to
simply ‘act-as if," while you persevere through those times of struggle.
In a world where only eight percent of people succeed at their
New Year’s resolutions, I think this little lesson from my twenties can be a
game-changer.
Let me explain.
When I was a grad student, my first real job included
keeping a specialty Eating Disorder Unit in a Southern California hospital
filled with patients; this meant being the face of the unit in the bustling professional
LA therapy community. Only at this point in my life I was still suffering with
what I refer to as the “imposter” hang-up, based partly on fact. I had stretched my way into a dream job above
my experience level, and without anyone to train me, I found myself immersed in
a fake-it-till-you make-it situation.”
For anyone with a modicum of self-confidence this would have
been fine, however I was plop in the middle of my clinical program, and raw from
my on-going personal therapy (required for degree) and every day I was struggling
to be successful at new job on which every EDU employee’s work hours depended
on--- to say I felt like I was walking a thin tightrope is an understatement. I
was completely in touch with all my insecurities. Which at this point included
my lack of a Master’s degree.
Funny the things we give symbolic meaning to; I was surrounded
by fellow staff members all with Masters degrees, PhDs and MDs and back then
that felt like a metaphor for my life.
Fortunately, all my neurotic performance worries manifested
in a type A achievement on the job, which meant at least outwardly, I appeared
perfectly comfortable most of the time.
Except for this one situation.
It was to be my job to get up in front of a community of
professionals who were coming to see our charismatic Medical Director, Manohar
Shinde lead a teaching seminar in our hospital boardroom, and it was turning
into a jam-packed event filled with clinicians, --that little old grad student
Me,—had admired from afar.
“What?! Can’t someone
else please do this?” I asked the Nursing Director, a woman who became a female
mentor for me. “Pat-can’t-you-do-it, please?”
Of course not.
This was my job and when I wasn’t standing in front of a
podium shaking, I was efficient at it.
On the afternoon before this dreaded event—which had now taken
on ridiculous importance in my head—cementing my imposter status to the
world—Dr. Shinde surprised me by stopping by my office and asking me to lunch.
A private lunch with our Medical Director was rare and I
knew why.
Over our lunch—while he ate quickly and I picked at my salad--
he listened with keen ears while I blurted
out my litany of self-doubts about this situation, after which I was sure he
would relieve me of this duty. Instead he gave me a bizarre response.
He said, “Yes, I think you will need to act as-if.”
I was confused. WTF? Was
he telling me to pretend? Did this
esteemed psychoanalyst and my personal role model whose daily focus was on
uncovering one’s most authentic feelings and encouraging truth-telling, advising
me to…fake it?!
“But… that’s not how I feel!!!” I blurted out. “I don’t feel
like that person you’re asking me to be.”
Remember, I was practically living on a psych unit, this was
the way staff talked.
And his answer was basically yes. He encouraged me to think
of it this way. No psych-mumbo-jumbo, just this simple one-liner. Basically,
there are times we must do things without that feeling of emotional readiness. But
with our actions, often the (desired) emotions will follow.
I remember feeling stunned. Everything I was learning in my
therapy and witnessing on the Eating Disorder Unit was focused on the principle
of honoring our feelings. Exploring them. Working through them. Nowhere did it
imply ignoring them.
I was acutely aware that if I listened to my feelings right then, they were telling me this
task was completely premature for my comfort level. I wasn’t ready. I was
simply too insecure.
He wiped his mouth with a white paper napkin and hurried
away after he patted my hand.
“I know you’ll be fine.” He smiled.
Well, I don’t need to tell you the end of this story.
You probably figured out I did my job and it went fine; and for
a short time, I stood up and acted like the confident person I hoped to be someday,
feeling ever the faker, but once I got over the shock of having a fairly
successful experience, I felt different.
Today I understand. Although my insecurities of those days
have become duller, I never forgot THAT CERTAIN FEELING I had afterwards. It
was jolting and indisputable, an electrical charge wiring me for the future.
It was that feeling of, “Yes! I can do this.”
I realize now I would have been deprived of this transformative
experience if I wasn’t forced to plow through my most primal fears and get to
the other side.
To “Act As-If” means
acting before we’re officially feeling ready. It means honoring our feelings,
but not being restrained by them. It means that you might be the smartest
person in the room with the best intellectual grasp of your dream, and you’ll
need to be aware that those same cognitive machinations can contribute to your
decision to wait. And think about it some more.
When it comes to our
dreams or goals, beware of what I call, analysis-paralysis.
I know from first-hand experience. Which is why you’re
reading these words right now.
Action will be the game-changer in your life. And thankfully, it’s your
actions—whether they begin as New Year’s resolutions or simple habits—that will begin to change the way you view yourself.
In the words of Oprah, “You get the life you have the
courage to ask for.” Well, I’ve been a slow learner of this ‘asking part.’ But
I’m getting braver.
Are you feeling immobilized by those nagging self-doubts? Are you stuck waiting for that
perfect moment to embark on your private dream?
Getting emotionally unstuck requires intentional action. Get
moving, start small. Every day do one little thing toward your goal.
And remember.
Sometimes
you just have to jump out into the
air and grow wings on the way down.
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Before I nailed the panel to the wall I also needed to cut out the space for my electrical outlet. After I bought a new blade for my jigsaw it went perfectly.
I had planned on using wood glue on the panel, before the nails, but I totally forgot. That's what happens when you work alone, I know if my Dad was here that wouldn't happen. But luckily since it was a small area, the panel adhered to the wall easily.
