By Tatum Oxenreider
Assistant Editor
College and adolescence are when our identities and personalities are solidifying and are the center of our universes. We consciously and unknowingly care and think so much about how we look and come across to our peers. We wish we could change: be more confident, be more silly, be more fit, be more studious, etc.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from life and the wise people in it, it’s that it’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of acting.
Allowing our thoughts to shape and influence our actions is important to our survival. However, if you’re like me, it can be easy to overthink and overanalyze everything. This often leads to dormancy and reclusion.
Acting your way into a new way of thinking takes practice and an ironic amount of effort, but by letting our actions guide us and shape our thoughts and attitudes, we learn to become ourselves to our full potential.
For example, let’s say that you want to be more confident. You can either think about all the ways that you wish you were or “should be” confident, or you can act as someone who is confident. Thinking won’t get you very far.
Another example I can think of comes from a movie I watched recently called “Hitman,” in which the main character, Gary (played by Glen Powell) has to go undercover as a man named Ron.
Gary is a guy who is quirky to say the least and generally lives what some would call a “sad life.” But Ron is this cool, charismatic and confident person who is interesting and leads a mostly desirable life.
He is satisfied with his previous life and is a good guy with nothing wrong, but he’s not living to his potential. Gary’s okay either way, but he eventually adapts and adopts the characteristics of Ron and then begins to live life to its fullest.
Changing even small things such as smiling more, talking to someone even if you don’t want to, starting to write without having a plan or wearing outfits with more color can start to make a world of difference.
So I hope you find this as encouraging and motivating to you, dear reader, as it is to me. I’m not saying you should completely change yourself and that you’re a horrible person, but throughout life, there are lots of little ways that we can improve to live our lives to the fullest and how God intends. Just fake it ‘til you make it.