I took a class last year where my teacher told us that you have to “fake it ‘til you become it”. She followed that comment up by showing us a video from TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design). Amy Cuddy is the speaker, and her video has been viewed over 16 million times, and ranks among the top 15 most-viewed TEDTalks. I highly recommend watching this video, it is an interactive video that forces you to reflect on how you compose yourself in your everyday life. The entire video is 21 minutes long, but for all of the timesavers out there, if you skip to 15 minutes into the video you will get the gist. Amy talks about her life story and shares how she used to be very insecure, until one day she learned that she could not live the rest of her life as a shell of herself. Since that point, she has made a couple of the simple changes that she talks about in the video, her life has changed dramatically. She holds a PhD in social psychology and now is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.
I generally consider myself a confident person, but there are certain situations that I don’t feel equipped for, or prepared. The key is acting as if you’ve been there before. Half of the battle is how you present yourself. You only have one chance to make a lasting first impression, and your first impression can be noted even before you have the chance to say a word. It can be based off something as simple as your body language and how you carry yourself into an interview or an appointment. Growing up I always heard “fake it ‘til you make it”. I always wondered, “What if I don’t want to fake it?” “Why pretend I’m someone that I’m not?”. Amy talks about going one step further than faking it until you make it. She says, “Fake it ‘til you become it”. This means put yourself in positions to get out of your comfort zone to make yourself better. Overtime there becomes a realization that you no longer “don’t” belong there; instead you became and conquered what you never imagined you could do. This video resonated with me because I felt as if it was calling me out personally. While overall I feel like a secure and outgoing person, I still have areas of insecurity and the video forces you to reflect on your individual weaknesses. While I’m young, and still trying to establish myself in the workplace, I feel that the video gives me the tools to become who I aspire to be and realize my full potential. Amy states that “Our bodies change our minds, our minds changes our attitude, and our attitude changes our outcomes.” A great quote that sums up her video.
Contributed by Anthony J. Sucato.
