Nit Wits #1: Roll Play
January
2005 Soul Food Cafe Interview
 Posted
Nov-27-2005
Who says you have to be famous
to get interviewed?
One of the things I love most about 'living inside' of my own
creative life is having the ability to act
as if — and being okay with trying a new role on
for size.
Maybe you've heard about act
as if at a
motivational seminar, on a success tape, or in a popular
book. Acting
as if means you take on the mindset of what you wish
to become and allow (or encourage) your behaviors to follow.
You bypass the what ifs and go straight to the what fors. If
you practice long enough, your acting as if is no
longer acting when you realize you've rightly grown into a
new role.
A related cliche is "Fake it until you make
it." I
think the essence of that is similar to act
as if, but it may hold a level of dishonesty (with self
or others) that authentically acting as
if doesn't share.
For
example, when I wanted to become a graphic designer after leaving
my corporate job, I earnestly aligned my behaviors to that
intention. I enrolled myself in college and worked through
a design program and sought out work at companies needing
my skills. I began acting as if as soon as I had a
few decent design pieces in my portfolio and was already growing
into the role of a graphic designer.
On the other hand, an example
of a "fake it until you make it" attitude would have
come several years earlier when I was fooling around with a
copy of Microsoft Publisher. The templates were easy enough
to figure out, but I didn't have a clue about layout design,
typography, color theory, printing, and other important things
that define trained designers from desktop publishing amateurs.
At that time it didn't matter and I had no intention of going
off to school to learn. After answering a Help Wanted ad for
a design job at a print house, I quickly realized during my
phone interview that there was no way to fake being a real
graphic designer, and if that was the path I wanted to take
I had to learn the skill set required for the job.
Acting as if is a tool to help you to become. It's
one way to give yourself permission to try on a new role to
see if it fits. At the very least, it allows you
time and space to experiment with your creativity, management
skills, or other life passion. Here are some ways I've used
it:
I'm acting as if I'm
a comic artist and can teach
other people how to draw (I just do it).
I'm acting as if I'm
an inventive thinker, product
designer, and humorist (this
list goes on and on).
I'm acting as if I have the potential to become a
pottery artist (I can do anything if I stick with
it long enough).
I'm acting as if I'm
a motivating creativity coach (this is a role I'm currently
growing into).
So what does any of this have to do with Heather Blakey's
January 2005 interview with me? Well ...
everything. The landscape of my
life has changed a lot in a year's time due to acting
as if. Small roles have grown into bigger ones. New people
and possibilities have entered the scene. Some
of my acting
as if has rightly grown into new work and responsibilities.
When you contemplate putting new things into motion in your
life, consider using the acting as if tool. Success
will come as you work in harmony with your intentions
and follow through with effort to become equipped for your
new role. (© 2005 Chris Dunmire) • |
