I remember a joke that asks, “How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?” The answer: “Only one, but the light bulb has to want to change.” Change is a funny thing. Many people are more afraid of change than they are of staying where they are even if that place is really bad. Really, the only thing you can change is yourself, but even that is too much to think about sometimes. Here’s a bit of advice that might make it easier for you to make changes in yourself that seem particularly hard. Act “as if.” There are lots of examples in pop culture of the people acting, “as if.” For example the Holiday Inn Express ads feature people doing things they are totally unqualified to do because they spent the night before in a Holiday Inn Express. The Leonardo DiCaprio movie, “Catch Me If You Can,” features a real life young man who pretends to be an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. The point is not that I want you to try and deceive people, but that acting, “as if,” helps you to break old patterns that might be holding you back from reaching your full potential. In school, there are lots of examples of how acting, “as if,” can help you succeed. Doing homework, preparing for tests, or showing what you know in front of a class all give you chances to act as if you are confident in your abilities. The funny thing is, the more you act, “as if,” the more likely you are to really become what you want to become. Try acting “as if”. I think you’ll be surprised what you can do.