Fake it until you make it.

I am not sure why that phrase kept running through my mind during the worship service, but there it was. It seemed determined to get my attention over the drums, the clapping and the bouncy praise songs filling the space.

I would like to say that I was not judging the people around me, but I think that would be a lie. It can be impossible not to wonder if that person with the huge smile really had a terrible day. Are those happy people really happy? The more I focused on the thought of faking it the more I began to understand. It was like the light was finally pushing out the darkness.

Measuring the Level of Fake

1. I fake being a writer so that I can reach the place I want to be as a writer. There are days when it feels like none of the words I push together make any sense. I keep pushing words together and sending them out and expecting something to happen because I am a writer (even if it is only in my mind).

2. I fake being the great supermom. Some days I even apply the cape for good measure just to make me step into the character that can clean, school and work all in the same moment. I usually end the day a few tasks short of super, but the pretending does make the journey more enjoyable (and gets more done than I would if I just sat around lamenting about what all was expected).

3. I fake being a speaker. Yes, I know that I am a talker by genetic dispensation, but a great talker does not make a great speaker. The butterflies that well up in my stomach have to be ignored. That deep dread that I have forgotten every word I was going to say has to be released. I step in front of the mike expecting to make a great presentation because I am a well-seasoned and well-practiced speaker (even if only in front of the mirror).

4. I fake being a great worshiper. There are days when the last thing I want to do is praise anything. Clapping along to the beat, swaying to the music and even singing at the top of my lungs will begin to lift my spirit to a place where it wants to praise no matter what else may be going on inmy the world around me.

In the end, this is what I began to understand about faking it until you make it. Choosing to pretend to be inspired, motivated and encouraged will help you find a point where you are actually inspired, motivated and encouraged. Faking forgoes a mask that covers up the reality of where you are at this moment. Instead, it manages to discover and unlock that launching point that blasts you into all of the possibilities of where you might go.