It is time we admit it—somewhere along the way in our popular culture, the adage fake it ‘til you make it became a popular term. Partly based on the thought process that it is better to pretend your way through experiences and things that we weren’t necessarily knowledgeable in, we became comfortable with the slogan. Instead of trying to educate ourselves and learn and grow, just getting by became the norm.
As working moms and women on the move, we all understand that many times, we have to be twice as good. Faking it ‘til you make it was a way that we could put a band-aid on the sore, but not a healing agent. The main reason why faking it doesn’t work is eventually, you will have to show receipts—proof that you actually know what you are doing.
This term is being used as a tool to help those of us who don’t want to actually do the work procrastinate their way through. I don’t know about you, but this isn’t something that I would want to be associated with me or the work I do. I also don’t want my kids or implementing that type of behavior.
I think that it is time to ban the term “fake it ‘til you make it’ and replace it with “face it ‘til you make it”. Here’s why:
Ethically and morally right
If you hired someone to do a job for you based on their expertise and what they said they could do, and then you found out that they were inept and could not actually do the job, wouldn’t that upset you? Wouldn’t that make you not want to hire that person again? When we say that we can do something, our word is our bond. Faking it isn’t going to actually get the job done, and will cause stress and other negatives in the long run.
Facing it is both ethically and morally the right thing to do, and in the long run, saves everyone time and money. It is okay to say that you don’t know, or you don’t have the answer, but when that’s the case your obligation is to get the answer.
Makes you responsible for learning
When you face it, then you are able to determine what you need to learn. Facing it makes you be proactive, which in turn, can make you better at everything you do. Facing it helps you be in charge of learning and growing and becoming a better person, while faking it may make it seem like you aren’t who you say you are. It isn’t authentic or real.
Can’t be used as a crutch
How many people do you know who have faked their way through something, and it becomes a habit which therefore becomes a crutch? Crutches are for the broken, not for the bold who can admit when they need to dig deeper to learn something. Do you choose to be broken or do you choose to be bold?
Faking it ‘til you make it should be taken out of popular culture and replaced with “face it ‘til you make it”. I think by doing so, it makes us all healthy and accountable individuals who try to be our best selves everyday. It definitely makes us better friends, better parents, and better business owners.
What are your thoughts?
