How to Act As If for maximum effectiveness

When I first introduced the process of Act As If I described how everyone acts as if their awareness is perfectly valid. Today is about using this process more creatively to maximize your effectiveness.

Attitude in action.

Act As If, as I’m describing it here, is an attitude in action. An attitude is a decided way of thinking. You will attitudinize your actions (I had to use ‘attitudinize’ in a sentence. Cool word.). The attitude you will be adopting is:

• What I have decided to do is exactly what needs to be done to achieve my Intention. By doing what I’m doing my success is assured.

It’s that state of mind in which you have given up your fear of failure. You know what you want, what you must do, and you just do it – fully expecting to succeed.

What this feels like.

Here’s an example of what this attitude feels like: have as your Intention, right now, to get a glass of water for yourself. Don’t worry if you’re not thirsty, you don’t have to drink it. Just decide that you want to have a glass of water in your hand, right now. Please do this. It’s important for illustrative purposes. Go on, I’ll wait. Go get yourself a glass of water.

Back? If you didn’t play along and have just kept reading – tsk, tsk. For those of you who did get a glass of water before continuing – Thank you. I think you’ll get more out of this exercise because of your participation. Onward.

The task was simple, right? Easy even. You knew what you wanted. You knew what it would take to get it. You headed to the kitchen (perhaps), opened the cupboard, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Done deal.

Here’s what you didn’t do:

• you didn’t think, “But what if there aren’t any glasses?”
• you didn’t think, “What if the tap is broken? What if the city has turned off the water for some reason?”
• you didn’t picture yourself falling down and breaking your leg on your way to getting the water
• you didn’t imagine someone trying to stop you from getting the water
• in short, you didn’t ponder over problems that might never materialize

Unfortunately, you have gotten into the habit of picturing what can go wrong, then acting as if failure is just around the corner. Sure you’ve got to consider the possibilities, and failure is definitely a possibility. It is intelligent behavior to mentally plan, to determine what is necessary, to spot problems before they crop up. This is sound practice when it’s appropriate. But to bring that attitude of caution to the physical arena is disastrous.

To go boldly.

Once you have decided what you will do, do it. Be bold. If you act as if you are unsure, as if you doubt yourself, you will be ineffective. You are not to act as if you know everything or that you are some infallible superhuman. Just that you believe in yourself and what you are doing. If you don’t believe what you are doing will be effective why are you doing it? What you have decided to do must be the most effective action as far as you know. Until you become aware of a better action commit to that action.

Bring to mind the last time you acted with hesitancy. The process of second guessing yourself spirals you toward no action at all. This ties strongly to my post regarding decisions. You attempt to think yourself into a situation that can only be understood through action. Thinking is appropriate when it’s appropriate. Know its limitations. Do not try to think when it can’t help you.

A change of perspective.

I haven’t gone all mystical on you. I’m not suggesting you have a mind of no-mind or achieve some thoughtless state. I’m talking about perspective. Once you have decided on an action you must act. It’s at this point that you stop introspection and bring your awareness to the reality before you.

Consider the difficulty some people have approaching the opposite sex. Generally, the person’s awareness is spread too thin. They are trying to determine: a) the best way to approach, b) if an approach will be welcome, c) how they will be received, d) possible openers, what to say in between, and how to end the conversation, e) if anyone else will be watching the exchange and what they might think, f) if the person will be nice, etc. They are trying to think of every possible course of action so they will be prepared (i.e. trying to predict the future).

We all do this to a point. The problem arises when you try to use thinking when action is the only way to gather more information.

Once you have determined what you want and what you must do act on your awareness. Allow the action to expand your awareness in a way thinking never could. In order to adapt to reality fluidly (Fluidity) you must immerse yourself in that reality. Now you have something new you can use, information you could have gotten no other way. Get out of your thoughts and into action.

Get caught up in the moment.

Here is how to keep things simple. “Act As If” works in the moment. And that is as it should be. You do not want to act as if you have all the answers forever more. All you need concern yourself with is answering this simple question: What is my next physical action?

TWD is a behavior focused philosophy. Behavior includes thought. Thinking is not a physical action. I just want to be very clear. When you are answering the above question you are deciding what to do with your body or your mouth (i.e. what you will do or say).

When you have decided what your next physical action will be you then proceed to act as if that action is exactly what is required to achieve the Intention you have set for yourself. Your effectiveness comes from acting as if the achievement of your Intention is a forgone conclusion. When it occurs to you that your actions will not yield your Intention change your behavior immediately. Why wait? Adapt. Try something else. Continuing to do something that’s not working is foolish.

Some observations.

Do not carry this idea too far. You need doubt. You need hesitation. You need caution. To merely adopt an attitude of “I cannot fail” is not what I am getting at here. Just be clear that when you have decided to act the time for doubt, hesitation, and caution is over. When you act do so with the confidence that you are doing exactly the right thing.

Neither am I anti-thinking. I just know from personal experience that thinking as a means of goal achievement can only take you so far. There comes a time when you must act. Most people fail to act. Hence my continual “take action” rants.

So take the time to think when it’s the right thing to do. And when it’s time to act Act As If.