"As If"

In the ‘90s the movie Clueless gave us a lead character named Cher. A popular rich teen living in Beverly Hills who used the saying “Ugh, as if” to show her disgust for things such as boys wearing baggy pants and backward caps, she was too sophisticated for such things. In a positive mind, however, the words “as if” carry a very different meaning. Think of sayings like Gandhi’s “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Taking this perspective Gandhi was trying to help us live life to the fullest every day we have the pleasure of being alive.

In Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Living he builds on Gandhi’s perspective on the words “as if”. In Peale’s writing we can see that the words “as if” are actually the key to positive thinking. The idea is simple: whatever you want to be, act AS IF you are already that way; whatever you want to have, act AS IF you already have it. Eventually, your acting becomes reality. Peale gives many examples of how this has worked for different people with differing circumstances. And, if it worked for them it can also work for you and me.

Why not give it a try? Act AS IF you are already everything you want to be and that you already have everything you desire to have. Act with confidence making a conscious effort to think only positive thoughts about it. Start with something small and see how it works for you. Sure, it may be difficult at first and you may feel like a phony or a fraud. But if all it takes to get you what you truly want is to act like you already have it I think it’s worth the effort.

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