OH! Magazine - Australian Version June 2018 | Page 5

( OH WOW )
WHY YOU
SHOULDN’T
FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT
Dr John Demartini explains why the
‘fake it ;til you make it’ notion is a bad idea.
ou’ve heard the cliché ‘fake it ‘til
you make it’, in the achievement
world. Personally, I believe this is a myth.
You don’t have to fake who you are in
order to achieve what you desire. In fact,
if you’re looking to accomplish something
meaningful, being the real you – the most
authentic you – is the best way to make
the biggest difference.
Y
Here’s why ‘faking it’ is a fallacy.
You have a set of priorities – a set of values
– that you live your life by. Whenever you
set goals that are congruent and aligned
with your highest values, you have the
greatest probability of achievement. This
is because when you are authentic you
have the highest awareness of opportunity,
you have an ability for quick decision-
making, and you take actions with
determination and persistence. You walk
your talk. You awake your natural-born
leadership. You achieve.
But whenever you are setting goals that
are not congruent with your highest
values, you decrease the probability of
achievement. You tend to procrastinate,
hesitate, frustrate and get easily
distracted. It is on these occasions when
you may come to believe that you should
‘fake it ‘til you make it’.
It’s important to understand however, that
a lot of people set up fantasies instead of
goals. If you set a goal and you keep
hesitating on it – or if you keep having
anxieties or fears associated with it –
that’s a symptom of an incongruent goal.
If you feel that you have to ‘fake it’ then
that’s a sign of a lack of confidence and a
lack of confidence is a symptom, telling
you that you’re trying to be something
you’re not. You’re trying to set goals that
aren’t yours; or you’re trying to live by
priorities that aren’t really important to
you and, therefore, you’re having self-
depreciating feelings. And you can’t
override this type of situation by faking it.
You can however, use these feelings to
guide you towards a set of real goals, real
competencies and realistic objectives.
1. You will automatically persevere at
any goal, if you do the following:
5. Consistently take action on these
small tasks. Small bites make big
dreams come true.
No doubt, there are some areas of your life
where inspiration and motivation comes
easily. Usually, it relates to something in
your life that is genuinely highest on your
list of values; that is most congruent, is
most meaningful, and that is your core
competence (meaning, you’re already
great at it).
This is most often your highest value and,
if you set goals in line with it, you don’t
need to try very hard to feel motived,
incentivised or reminded to work towards
it.
If you want to achieve, my best advice is
‘don’t fake it’. Instead, just go and do
something truly meaningful to you, and
achievement will naturally follow.
2. Come to understand your highest
values (you can do this for free, here).
3. Set goals that are in your core
competence, that are truly congruent
with what you really value and that
demonstrate what you spontaneously
do from within.
4. Break down those goals into small
bites – actions so simple that you just
go and get them done.
Dr John Demartini
Dr John Demartini is a renowned
entrepreneur, human behaviour expert,
founder of The Demartini Institute, and
the author of 40 books that have been
translated into 31 languages. He has
featured in films including The Secret,
and he regularly contributes to Oprah
Magazine. For more information visit
www.drdemartini.com
OH! MAGAZINE ( JUNE 2018 )
5