In this episode, I speak to my wife about the most well-researched and widely accepted personality model among psychologists, The Big Five. We talk about the link between personal development and personality and explain how knowledge of personality psychology can help us in our day-to-day lives.
Episode #16: Act Like The Person You Want to Become
You've probably heard the phrase hundreds if not thousands of times throughout your life: "Fake it 'til you make it."
But what does it really mean? Is there any truth to it? And how can you apply it in the real world?
As is the case with many pithy maxims like this, it's necessary to dig a little deeper to extract its value. In this short episode, I try to do just that by looking at it from a slightly different angle…
Where to Invest Your Time
(Read time: 3-4 minutes)
This post briefly outlines a framework for deciding where to invest your time.
You may have already realized, as I have, that the actions you take to improve your life are not equal; they exist on different levels.
Some are more direct, meaning their benefit is linear and specific. Examples include things like working a job, going to the grocery store, responding to an email, and deciding what you're going to wear. Let's call these Level 1 actions, or direct actions.
However, some actions are more meta, meaning their benefits are multidimensional and have a kind of cascade effect on other actions…
Act like the person you want to become.
(Read time: 2-3 minutes)
You've probably heard the phrase: "Fake it ‘til you make it."
I agree with this advice but with one caveat: Don’t fake the superficial stuff. Fake the meaningful stuff.
Don’t fake the money.
Don’t fake the accomplishments.
Don’t fake the ego.
This is a horrible waste of time and energy and it gets you nowhere. Instead...
Fake the consistency.
Fake the work ethic.
Fake the action.
For many things in life, pretending is just as good as the real thing. In fact, for some things the difference is indistinguishable…