“Fake it ‘til you make it," is a version of 17th century French philosopher, Blasé Pascal’s famous wager, and commonly used in modern times to inspire positive change in people struggling with their place in society.
(Huge apologies here to philosophers; Pascal was speaking of the existence of God and the modern version of his wager is most commonly used to help people struggling with addiction. Not being a philosopher, I am simply musing about adopting a philosophical approach that might help us through our daily grind.)
It is daunting when you are overwhelmed or feeling sad, and not up to the rigors of working and living in your community.
When someone says you’re not alone or that they know what you are going through as they have had similar experience, it doesn’t make you feel better. The mood you’re in feels like it owns you and no one could possibly understand what you’re going through.
It might be more helpful if you had acknowledgement, psychological validation, that what you are experiencing is real and how you are experiencing it is unique to you.
But while validation is important, it really doesn’t address a remedy for the situation.
What if we employ the modern version of Pascal’s wager and adopt a cheerful disposition even though we don’t feel it? What if we do this as a habit? Perhaps we could cultivate this habit until it becomes our second nature. It could be something we fall back on when we are feeling less than cheerful? Could that not be a temporary measure to help us over rough spots in our daily lives?
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle thought a person could attain virtue by making virtuous acts a habit. And again, I apologize for making a mish-mash of philosophy. But I wonder if this concept could be applied to fighting those feelings of sadness, acting cheerful to become cheerful, in this case. Aristotle put great stock in cheerfulness. "It is for the sake of happiness," Aristotle wrote, "that we all do everything else we do."
Certainly you will know if you are faking it more often than feeling it. That would be an indication the application of this philosophy might not be working for you. After all, you are smart enough to know what works for you and what does not.
If you are harming no one, and are fully cognizant of what it is you are attempting, then adopting a cheerful outlook and making it part of your nature, might be worth a try.
(Huge apologies here to philosophers; Pascal was speaking of the existence of God and the modern version of his wager is most commonly used to help people struggling with addiction. Not being a philosopher, I am simply musing about adopting a philosophical approach that might help us through our daily grind.)
It is daunting when you are overwhelmed or feeling sad, and not up to the rigors of working and living in your community.
When someone says you’re not alone or that they know what you are going through as they have had similar experience, it doesn’t make you feel better. The mood you’re in feels like it owns you and no one could possibly understand what you’re going through.
It might be more helpful if you had acknowledgement, psychological validation, that what you are experiencing is real and how you are experiencing it is unique to you.
But while validation is important, it really doesn’t address a remedy for the situation.
What if we employ the modern version of Pascal’s wager and adopt a cheerful disposition even though we don’t feel it? What if we do this as a habit? Perhaps we could cultivate this habit until it becomes our second nature. It could be something we fall back on when we are feeling less than cheerful? Could that not be a temporary measure to help us over rough spots in our daily lives?
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle thought a person could attain virtue by making virtuous acts a habit. And again, I apologize for making a mish-mash of philosophy. But I wonder if this concept could be applied to fighting those feelings of sadness, acting cheerful to become cheerful, in this case. Aristotle put great stock in cheerfulness. "It is for the sake of happiness," Aristotle wrote, "that we all do everything else we do."
Certainly you will know if you are faking it more often than feeling it. That would be an indication the application of this philosophy might not be working for you. After all, you are smart enough to know what works for you and what does not.
If you are harming no one, and are fully cognizant of what it is you are attempting, then adopting a cheerful outlook and making it part of your nature, might be worth a try.
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