Can We Fool Ourselves?

We have heard the expression "fake it until you make it", but can we really fake it? I suspect that we have all been in situations or times where we had to put a smile on and make the best of a situation. That tends to be more situational and hopefully short term.


Pretending we are not anxious, when we are, is a tactic that may fool those around you but you can't fool yourself. We always know what we are doing, but sometimes we just don't or are not able to acknowledge it. Attempting to deny or repress our fears and worries within our self does not work. The result is often the heavy feeling of carrying around extra emotional weight., depression or a physical ailment, indicating that in our subconscious, we know very well that something is wrong.

Being rigorously honest saves us from playing destructive games with ourselves. A worry that we can define and examine in the light of day is far less threatening than one we are trying to tuck away in the darkness and hide.

Navigating Work-Life Balance

When work life and personal life are out of balance, our stress level is likely to be high.

Balancing work and personal life has rarely been an easy task but in today's technology driven environment, the lines between work and personal life can be even fuzzier. Technology has allowed people to take work home and be accessible 24 hours, 7 days a week. It has also allowed people to be on the road for sales calls, leave the office for doctor's appointments and kid's events and still be connected to the office and productive. Although that flexibility can be beneficial for both the employer and the employee, it can make it hard to identify when work life stops and the personal life begins.

Consider the consequences of poor work-life balance:

Fatigue - when you are tired, your ability to work productively and think clearly might suffer. This can lead to poor performance, costly mistakes, and a feeling of not being present with family and friends.

Lost Connections - time is a fixed commodity. When you spend too much time with work, family and friends suffer and the possibility of losing touch with them increases.

Reduced Productivity - trying to do more usually results in accomplishing less. When we are stressed, overworked, or moving too fast, our bodies and minds can't process actions and ideas optimally or efficiently.