Tell yourself a true lie

Tell yourself a true lie

I remember when my then-12-year-old daughter Margery participated
in a school poetry reading in which all her classmates had to write a "lie
poem" about how great they were.
 
They were supposed to make up untruths about themselves that made
them sound unbelievably wonderful. I realized as I listened to the poems
that the children were doing an unintended version of what Arnold did
to clarify the picture of his future. By

"lying" to themselves they were creating a vision of who they wanted to
be.
It's noteworthy, too, that public schools are so out of touch with the
motivational sources of individual achievement and personal success
that in order to invite children to express big visions for themselves they
have to invite the children to "lie." (As it was said in the movie ET,
"How do you explain school to a higher intelligence?")
 
Most of us are unable to see the truth of who we could be. My
daughter's school developed an unintended solution to that difficulty: If
it's hard for you to imagine the potential in yourself, then you might
want to begin by expressing it as a fantasy, as did the children who
wrote the poems. Think up some stories about who you would like to
be. Your subconscious mind doesn't know you're fantasizing (it either
receives pictures or doesn't).
 
Soon you will begin to create the necessary blueprint for stretching your
accomplishments. Without a picture of your highest self, you can't live
into that self. Fake it till you make it. The lie will become the truth.

I'm reading: Tell yourself a true lie