Fake it Til You Make IT!

In my early years after college, I worked for a Fortune 500 company and one of the more Senior employees (ie: very successful older gentleman) told one of the newer guys:

"just fake it til you make it!"

that quote stuck with me. In context, he was telling the younger less experienced employees to fake his confidence and success until it became a reality. There were more lessons to be learned and you could apply this mantra to many areas of your life. This is sage advice for writers, parents, spouses, children, students, etc...

At the moment, I'm faking a lot of things. There future of education, farming, and life are uncertain. 2020 has been a rough year. I'm faking a smile some mornings but by noon it has transitioned to a genuine smile as I watch my children embrace virtual learning. I'm faking my writing most days. I tell the children "mom has to go in her office and get some writing done" but basically the only thing I'm thinking about is the delicious cup of coffee in my hand - but by the time the cup is empty I've managed to write a few paragraphs and somehow my confidence has grown. I'm faking it when it comes to technology - "just a moment sweetie, sure mommy can fix that and get you back into your google meet"...really I'm ready to throw the computer but I take a deep breath and sit down and somehow manage to muddle through all the open browser tabs to get us back to where we need to be.

I'm no different than you are. You fake a smile as you walk into the grocery store with your steamy glasses and your uncomfortable mask. You fake a "no, I'm fine" when someone offers to run an errand for you. I see you over there. My advice is, remember everyone else sees you as well. Your neighbors, co-workers, children, friends, and family are all seeing you. If you fall into those uncertain feelings of fear and angst you're not going to make it to the ah-hah moment! We all need to fake it a little bit right now. When our local schools closed, I tucked the kiddos in bed and took a little drive around the block. That's where I let the tears flow. That's where I experienced the uncertainty, the feelings of anger because this year doesn't look the way I had envisioned it. Then...

When I got home (and after a good night's rest), I faked a smile and explained to the children what was going on in our county, our school system, our family and our home. I calmly assured them everything was going to be just fine and together we would overcome the obstacles. You know what? After they asked their questions, shared their ideas, and smiled...I was no longer faking it! I felt confident we were making it! Making the right choices for the right reasons. 

This is just one example, but I know many households are feeling the same thing right now. I'm here to tell you not to give up. Work on your writing. Update your author page. Take the selfie of you smiling. Post those positive quotes and inspirational photos to social media. Life isn't always sunshine, lollipops, and roses, but I promise if you put on a smile and surround yourself with as much positivity as you can muster, you'll make it!

Tell us about a time in your life you faked it! Did you eventually make it? We can't wait to hear from you!

Drop a note and let us know!

Hugs,
~Crystal

and now...a little more about me...

Shown from left to right:
Delphine riding Honey
Mr. Otto holding Eudora
Crystal riding Marv.
Thank you Forward Farm, LLC 

Crystal is the office manager, council secretary, financial secretary, and musician at her church, birth
mother, Auntie, babywearing mama, business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their five youngest children, two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, horses Darlin' and  Miss Maggie May, and over 250 Holsteins.

And now she runs a virtual classroom for her children who are distance learners! 

You can find Crystal milking cows, riding horses, and the occasional unicorn (not at the same time), taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books here, and at her own blog - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade and she has never (not once) been accused of being normal!