On my way out of the house the other morning, I spilled an entire container of oatmeal  inside the pocket door of our pantry. Inside the door. There was oatmeal everywhere. The kids and I stopped in our tracks and slowly took in what looked like vomit, on me, the door, the molding, the toaster, and the floor. I opened my mouth and said calmly, “Wow—that was a really annoying spill.” Inside, I was resisting a full-on temper tantrum because I thought I was going to be late, but like a little girl in my room back in 1980, I just pretended the spilled oatmeal wasn’t a big deal 1. Because it wasn’t, and 2. Because I often need to pretend I’m not rip-sticks pissed in moments like that.

That oatmeal eruption got me thinking about all the ways you could use pretending in life. Like, when I was watching one of my kid’s games the other day, I thought,. Hmmm, they don’t actually have to have the confidence to plough into the defense to score, they can just pretend they have it. Here are some examples of how I’ve used it:

I’ve pretended that… 

• • I’m ok with saying “no” to people.
  • I’m ok with being late.
  • I want to do things even when I don’t want to do them.
  • Things that have been tough in the past are now easy for me. 
  • I’m adventurous when I’m full of fear.
  • I don’t have an opinion about something when I could hurt someone’s feelings by voicing my opinion.
  • I’m so happy and full of love to see a kid who’s been giving me major attitude all week.

This isn’t about pretending I’m someone I’m not. This is about pretending myself into the person I’d like to be. I’m happy to report that, after years and years of pretending, the more I pretend, the less I have to pretend. It’s pretty cool how this “acting like a child again” technique can actually lead to me feeling so much more mature.

Apparently, I dig this topic…
Fake It Till You Make It – When Playing Pretend is the Best Option