The “Act As If” Principle

My mission president taught us the “act as if” principle.  If you want to be dedicated and faithful, act as if you already are.  If you want to be happy and optimistic, act as if you are. I liked that, but it was difficult.  Because of my perfectionism, I usually felt like I wasn’t measuring up. But I put on the façade that I was doing okay.  So it was an act, since I didn’t really feel good about myself.  

Story of my life.

I once took a Theater Arts class at BYU-Idaho called “Actors and Emotion” which focuses on methods for generating emotional experiences while performing.  We learned how to conjure up emotions.  If I wasn’t feeling sad, I could generate that emotion in myself.  It seemed artificial.  If I were actually an actor it would probably be useful.  But because I’m not an actor I didn’t feel good about creating sadness or anger or joy, because it didn’t seem honest.  

By putting on a happy face and smiling, I’ve been criticized (and I’ve criticized myself) for not being authentic.  However, scriptures teach me to “be of good cheer” (Matt 9:3, D&C 68:6, Acts 23:11, Matt 14:27, D&C 61:36, John 16:33).  I love the teaching that we should “cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123:17).  

So is it OK for me to smile even though I’m going through trials?  Is putting on a happy face like burying my head in the sand or putting on blinders?  

In my Come, Follow Me studies this month, Paul admonished me to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”  What does that mean?  Can I put Him on, like I would put on a piece of clothing while getting dressed in the morning, and then throughout the day try to act as he would act?  If I were to put Him on as a mask, would I find myself interacting with others in a more Christlike way?  And then after years of wearing Him daily, when I eventually take off the mask, would I find that I’ve taken on His image in my countenance?  

I’m currently re-reading the book “Bonds That Make Us Free” by C. Terry Warner, of the Arbinger Institute.  Near the end of Chapter 11 is this passage:

Behind all this discussion about what we can do to facilitate our own change of heart stands this simple question:  Since we cannot bring about a change of heart in ourselves directly, what can we do directly that will indirectly bring about a change of heart?  The answer is this: Even if we find ourselves unable to do the right thing with concern, compassion, or love, we can nevertheless do it because it is right.  

Pres. Russell M. Nelson taught:  “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

So if I can focus on gratitude and peace and joy, even when I’m living in difficult circumstances, I’ll be more apt to find those blessings.  I can choose to act as if I’m happy because it’s the right thing to do.  And it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Men are that they might have joy, even in the midst of adversity.  

To be continued . . . with Part 54