But this statement is not very accurate, at least it doesn't always work.
"Pretend you can do it until you really do it" is actually a slogan, but it sounds like a proverb. Most propaganda slogans are attractive because they are confusing, not because of the authenticity of their contents. Similarly, "Ginger is old and spicy" is not always accurate, but people still regard it as "principle".
If nothing else, this sentence is mainly analyzed and expounded from the perspective of psychology.
This is a basic principle in psychology and neuroscience: neurons that discharge together will connect with each other. Application here means that if you do one thing and another at the same time, the two things will be internally related. Why is this happening? Everything human beings do will always trigger a potential neural circuit in some way. This trigger is a signal sent by one neuron to another.
When two seemingly independent neurons are triggered simultaneously or successively, they often form a path to connect them with each other. Finally, this path becomes an internal connection.
The classic example, Pavlov's dream dog, is the best proof. There is also a cognitive bias that we often have-memory distortion, that is, the information of one event A and another event B is mixed and confused into a distorted memory plot. Their internal process is that the neuron cluster of event A sends a signal to the neuron cluster of event B, which makes the two events related. This connection refers to the perceptual connection of system one described by Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow. Without rational systematic thinking, we often mistakenly sublimate this connection into causal connection to explain the phenomenon that dogs are greedy for plums to quench their thirst.
Another basic principle is that we trigger a neuron by thinking about something. For example, if you are thinking about driving, but you are not actually driving, it will also trigger neuron activity related to driving. This is because the perception of reality is entirely generated by the brain, which is why the optical illusion brought by virtual reality will deceive our brains. It is entirely possible to implant memories in the movie Inception to influence the real world, as long as stable enough neuronal connections are formed.
Now, when you say "pretend to be able to do it until you really do it", what you really mean is: pretend to stay in a certain state, or do something to trigger related neuronal activity. Do these things under certain circumstances, and your brain will think that these neurons are paired with what you are doing. Using these pairing based on Herb's principle, you can connect related neurons and make you "really do it".
In addition, repeatedly triggering related neuronal activities can also improve the efficiency and quality of doing related things.
Need to pay attention to the following points:
You can't try to "cover up" a powerful existence. If you loaf around every day, you can't fool yourself by pretending to work hard. After all, the reality is there.
You can't make yourself a capable person by pretending. You need to work hard and study hard, otherwise you can't "really do it".
The principle is effective, but it doesn't mean it can be used everywhere. How to use it, you need to have your own consideration
Studies have found that people's self-confidence can create a positive social status, even if it is unreasonable. In other words, you can gain real confidence by pretending to be confident and then using positive social feedback.
People often improve their self-image by buying good things, such as high-quality clothes, shoes, cosmetics, etc., so as to achieve the purpose of improving their self-confidence. However, research shows that doing so will have the opposite effect, which will eventually deepen the memory of your own shortcomings and failures.
Richard e watts invented a method called "reflecting as if", which refers to using a pretend strategy to enter a given process. He suggested that we should take a step back and think about what our ideal self would do, and then pretend to be our ideal self. This can make people gain a brand-new perspective and change their behavior habits in a simple way, so as to transform themselves into their ideal selves. So "pretending" here is actually taking a step back to choose and evaluate alternatives, and then using this scheme to achieve "doing".
How can people stay true without falling into the illusion of "doing it" (lying)? It is found that those who often discuss their goals and ambitions can gain more respect and admiration from their life circles than those who discuss the daily work and life pressures. A follow-up study shows that being more capable and optimistic will have a lasting positive impact. Those who pretend to be optimistic and confident usually have more authority and status in the team. This is because a person has authority and ability at the beginning, and this initialization will change his subsequent behavior to reflect his authority and ability.