Have you ever heard of the ‘Act As If’ method? According to Jack Canfield, the idea is that you “act as if you already are where you want to be“.
The method is taught to people who are wanting to achieve more success in their lives or a specific goal. For some people when they imagine achieving their goals or great success they imagine a totally different person. This makes it hard for them to imagine their current self achieving those goals. So by ‘acting as if’ the idea is you will begin to believe you are that person who can achieve their dreams and as a result achieve them quicker.
Now, this may sound a bit out there so below are 5 specific areas for you to think about using the ‘Act As If’ method.
Act As If & Your Speech
If you were the woman you want to be would you speak in the same way?
Initially, you should think about if the words and phrases you are using now match the image of your future self. If not, start using the vocabulary that fits the woman you want to become.
Then you should consider how you speak. Does the tone, pitch and speed fit with the image you have of yourself in the future?
Act As If & Your Look
When you think of the best version of yourself how do you look? What type of hair cut do you have or what colour is your hair? What clothes are you wearing? Do you have make-up on? Are you wearing accessories? Do you have a particular style or look? Are your nails done? Try to create a crystal clear image of yourself in your mind.
Many people imagine their future self-looking more ‘polished’, but there really is no reason you can’t start looking like that now. Maybe you can’t afford to make look exactly how you envision yourself, but you can start to make small changes. Consider what you believe would automatically make you feel better about your look and focus on changing that area first.
Act As If & Your Network
This is difficult for some people, but ask yourself “If I was living my best life would I spend my time with these people?”.
Your network has a direct impact on the life you lead and my improving your network now it will make your journey to your best self even easier. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, “We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.”
It is likely that if you aren’t where you want to be right now you make excuses about not being able to spend time with those people because you aren’t at their level yet. However, the best thing you can do is get comfortable being the least successful / confident / intelligent / wealthy / (anything else you want to be) in a conversation. This will enable you to learn and grow and ultimately rise up to the same, or even the next, level.
Act As If & Your Time
If you looked at how you spend a day today and how you would spend it in the future do they look the same? Think about how your day would look different and see how you can shift your calendar to look more like you want it to be.
Now it may be that “work” takes up a lot of your day and in the future, it wouldn’t. And you might not be able to change that right now. However, focus on the other hours. Are you spending the amount of time with friends and family as you would like? Are you ensuring you get enough sleep? Are you making the time to exercising often? Do you set aside time to be creative, to relax or to pursue your hobbies?
Another thing to consider is whether you are treating your time as preciously as you would in the future.
Act As If & Your Money
How does the best version of you think about money? Do you use it wisely? Do you donate to charity? Do you invest? Do you save? Do you spend it on luxuries or experiences?
Of all the areas to act money is usually the one people struggle with the most. People assume they will just change when they have more money, but in most cases, your habits and attitude continue so by adopting a good mindset now you will be putting yourself on the right path.
If you imagine donating 5% of your earning when you are a millionaire, start donating 5% of your earnings now!
Maybe you imagine you would invest money when you have more. Set aside some money now and look into the different ways you can invest it to get you started.
