Fake it "till you make it
The mind is omnipotent. I have seen it play out again and again, when we set our intention and our mindset influences the outcome of our lives. For better or for worse this process is generally an unconscious default, but here's the thing - We can change the factory setting! We can make a conscious decision, we can consciously set that intention to influence a more positive outcome. No matter what we are faced with. It's not hard. It just means getting out of auto pilot. " Life happens to me" and saying,
"I set the intention for MY life."
Funny story, after a long hiatus from competitive tennis, I recently joined a local team and played in a competitive tennis match.
As my new partner and I warmed up with our opponents, our well intentioned team captain, on the sidelines, told us that our competition was really really good and tough to beat. She went on to explain just how good our opponents were, detailing specifics about their prowess and what skilled competitors they are, with substantial winning records. With all this intel on the competition top of mind and in the moment, I could feel myself getting annoyed as my partner unconsciously started to repeat how good these opponents were and just how hard this match would be to win. It was classic auto pilot intention setting. We weren't going to win this one. We didn't have the skills. I walked onto the court feeling already defeated and we lost the first two points quickly.
It happened that we were on the exhibition court near the spectators. With eyes on us, I decided to look the part, like we belonged on court one. Racquet up, ready to go I reset my intention....and boom! We won the next two points. All of the sudden, our momentum shifted. It was a conscious shift. Our opponents were confused. You see, the original intention of losing had been set. It was a non verbal agreement or intention that was set when we lost those first two points...and then suddenly, with a conscious decision made by us, we re set the intention, we had a game.
My posture changed and we won that game. My partner started to see the new intention. The possibility that we could win the match and a new intention was set. Anything was possible and it was ours to lose. We won the next five games. Even though we lost the match in a super tie break, I know we influenced a better outcome.
Recreational tennis is not real world stuff. I get it, my hope is to nudge you into an awareness or awakeness, so the next time you are faced with something daunting, insurmountable, bad news you can adopt a new posture. Set your intention. You may feel that you need to Fake it....."till you make it and that's okay, Try it on. Be the winner, visualize the positive outcome and see where it takes you.
Allison McCarthy, LMT, MFR