by Laura Camacho, PhD, founder of Mixonian Institute
Einstein put it this way, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." I say, let’s just play pretend something amazing and see what happens.
Consider how powerful it can be to play Make Believe.
* Pretending is the mother of all creation and innovation.
* Pretending and being responsible are not incompatible.
* Pretending gets you away from the anxiety in your head.
If stress, which only exists in your mind, can literally kill you, just how powerful is your imagination? What is stress really, other than your imagination masquerading as an outside force of darkness? Is stress not the vivid imagination of negative outcomes?
Coaching some awesome sales reps the other day, I got reminded of how powerful it is to change the way you see a situation. Yet seeing circumstances differently is like asking a fish to change how she sees the water. Pretending allows anxiety to dissipate, replacing it with a more accurate perspective on the situation. Of course, pretending isn't always the answer. It's never cool to make believe something doesn't matter just because you're uncomfortable talking about it.
If you want to see a situation through a new perspective and you can't even, try a game of Make Believe.
Build Courage Scenario: Your Big Meeting/Pitch is this afternoon.
Your Big Meeting can be for an interview, or simply you have to meet with a Scary Important Person (SIP). Pretend it's pre-ordained to come out in your favor. You're just going through the motions of the meeting but it's already been decided in your favor. You won! Yay! There is no pressure to perform. You can relax now.
It's a beastly truth that detaching from the outcomes makes you the more confident player in any scenario. Pretending you've already got it helps you to do precisely that. You become more courageous when you realize that getting through any scary meeting (regardless of outcome) makes you a stronger person! It’s not fighting against reality, but by playing Make Believe, you can often outsmart adverse circumstances and nervous situations!
Laura Camacho, MBA, PhD, PMP, is an executive coach, trainer and speaker who opened Mixonian Institute in 2009 to rid the world of boring business communication. She has created innovative training programs for local and international companies, related to leadership effectiveness, excellent feedback, growth mindset and emotional intelligence. Multilingual, Dr. Camacho’s career highlights include facilitating The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (in Spanish,) being editor of the leading management newsletter in Venezuela. For 10 years she taught communication classes at ECU and College of Charleston. www.mixonian.com
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