Key ideas based on Brian Johnson's PhilosopherNotes:
"...if you want to improve your life, you need to change how you think. Force yourself to have positive thoughts, and you will become happier. Visualize your dream self, and you will enjoy increased success. Think like a millionaire, and you will magically grow rich. In principle, the idea sounds perfectly reasonable. However, in practice, the approach often proves surprisingly ineffective..."
If you want a quality or emotion, act as if you already have it.
Many believe, if you are happy then you smile......the "As if" principle theorizes that you smile and this causes you to fell happy.
It is much easier to act like you are happy, then try to think happy thoughts.
Just acting like you are smiling is powerful.
Listening to music isn't as powerful as actually singing.
Again, ACTION wins the day.
“Whatever we learn to do we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. In the same way, by doing just acts we come to be just; by doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we become brave.” - Aristotle
"Counter Clockwise" by Ellen Lager - in her study, men in their 80's and 90's begin feeling younger (and actually saw improvement in their physical abilities) just by acting as if they were young again.
Focus on enjoying the journey, not the end destination or reward.
In a study, poets who wrote simply for the love and joy of writing were far more creative than poets who wrote largely for the possibility of riches.
Rewards are great for short term achievement but not long term success because they remove the intrinsic joy of action (i.e.: you become focused on the destination and don't enjoy the journey).
Your "WHY" should motivate you, not the prospect of rewards or riches.
Your personality is not fixed, it can be shaped.
This is why people spend a lifetime trying to aspire to their best self.
In the book "Resilience" by Eric Greitens, changing your personality begins with identity: Identity —> Behaviors —> Feelings.
"Get clear on who you are at your best. Remind yourself of that daily/all the time and, most importantly, ACT LIKE THAT VERSION OF YOU. Now." - Brian Johnson
“It might be helpful to think of your old personality as being on vacation for two weeks, so you have an opportunity to act like a different person. It is important, however, that you play out your new role twenty-four hours a day, even when you’re alone. The As If principle will cause you to feel like a new person, and the new you will soon become part of your actual identity.”
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