Chapter 25 in my book is titled, Act As If. It’s a phrase that has been around for years. Recently, it’s been popularized in books, movies and by the wide acceptance of the ‘law of attraction.’ I recently had a friend going through a real and legitimate hard time – breakup with her boyfriend, lost her job, and physical challenges. So she asked me, “What do I do if my life really is at a low point? How do I make it better when it really sucks?” My answer (after reassuring her that bad things come in threes and it was really going to get better), “PRETEND!”
There’s a sign on my desk that reads, “If it’s not fun, I’m not interested.” I like fun and I like to play. So make a game out of your desperate, yucky, horrible situation. PLAY PRETEND! After all, if your life really does suck, you probably want to escape it anyway – so just play a mental game with yourself!!
If your life isn’t perfect right now, just pretend it is. I love to watch kids play pretend. I’ve always loved to play pretend, even when I was little. We’d play school teacher, we’d play Mommy, heck, we even played Doctor with the boy next door! Well, many of us as grown-ups have forgotten how to play pretend and it’s as valuable as playing golf or tennis or bunko! So if your life isn’t perfect right now, pretend it is! Speak as if it’s perfect. Think as if it’s perfect. Act as if it’s perfect – and soon it will be!!
Remember: Playing pretend (choosing to live based on the expectation that what you want is coming and you’re just getting ready for it to physically manifest) rather than living an evidence based life (choosing to live only believing in what you’re currently experiencing) opens up the power of possibility and will at least make your life a lot more fun! Now go play!
“Act as if you are already happy and it will tend to make you happy.”
-Dale Carnegie