In 1978, Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist performed an important study. She gave houseplants to two groups of nursing-home residents. One group was told they were responsible for keeping the plant alive and that they had autonomy in their daily schedule. The other group was told the staff would care for the plant and they were not given choices in their daily schedule.
After 18 months, twice as many people in the group given responsibility for their plant and schedule were alive than the other group. Langer took this as evidence that the present bio-medical model which views the mind and body as separate is wrong.
In response, she conducted a study to further examine the mind’s impact on the body.
Counterclockwise
In 1981, Langer and a group of graduate students designed the interior of a building to reflect 1959. There was a black-and-white TV, old furniture, and magazines and books from the 1950’s scattered about.
This would be the home to a group of eight men, all over 70 years old, for the next five days. When these men arrived at the building, they were told they should not merely discuss this past era, but to act is if they actually were their prior selves, 22 years ago. “We have good reason to believe if you are successful at this you will feel as you did in 1959,” Langer told them.
From that moment on, the study subjects were treated as if they were in their 50’s rather than their 70’s. Despite several being stooped-over and having to use canes for walking, they were not aided in taking their belongings up the stairs. “Take them up one shirt at a time if you have to,” they were told.
Their days were spent listening to radio shows, watching movies, and discussing sports and other “current events” from the period. They could not bring up any events that happened after 1959 and referred to themselves, their families, and their careers as they were in 1959.
The goal of this study was not for these men to live in the past. But rather, to mentally trigger the body to exhibit the energy and biological responses of a much younger person.
By the end of the five days, these men demonstrated noticeable improvement in their hearing, eyesight, memory, dexterity and appetite. Those who had arrived using canes, and dependent on the help of their children, left the building under their power and were carrying their own suitcases.
By expecting these men to function independently and by engaging with them as individuals rather than “old people,” Langer and her students gave these men “an opportunity to see themselves differently,” which impacted them biologically.
The roles you play in life determine your identity and behavior
Although Langer’s Counterclockwise study portrays the positive possibilities of redefining individual roles, other psychological research exposes a darker side. For example, the famous Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo revealed that the roles people are in, in large measure, determine their identity and behavior.
In the experiment, individuals were assigned to one of two roles, prison guards or inmates. Disturbingly, the experiment was forced to end premature because the subjects played their roles too well.
Those playing guards ridiculed and tortured the inmates, whereas those playing inmates became docile and even hopeless. The aftermath of the experiment left several of the study’s subjects psychologically traumatized.
It’s difficult to deny that the roles you play in your life dramatically impact who you are and how you act.
Your personality is not a fixed and intrinsic entity. Rather, your personality and character are fluid and ever-changing based on the roles you play. Consider the experience of Heath Ledger, whose death many believe was due, at least in part, to his over-attachment to his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
We are all actors on a stage
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” — William Shakespeare
You and I — everyone — are all actors. We are all playing roles on different stages in varied contexts. In one situation, you may play the role of a musician while in other roles you may play a parent, a friend, a lover, a student, or a teacher.
Each situation determines the role you play. However, most people have not consciously designed their circumstances nor have they consciously determined the roles they will play.
Most people fail to realize that they get to choose their stage, who they will be, and how they will act. They have not decided to write the story of their own lives. But have consigned the story-telling to someone or something outside of them.
Rather than seeing their identity as flexible and malleable, most people believe “this is just the way I am,” and see their identity as rigid.
Seeing yourself more authentically
Your most authentic self is not who you currently are, but rather, who you desire to become. You are the author of your life’s narrative. You have power to determine the stages of life you will be on and the characters you will play.
And even when unexpected challenges arise, you have the power of improvisation during which, you can live congruent to your values — the essence of authenticity.
Because you get to shape the environment and decide the roles you will play, you can make quantum leaps in your personal and professional development. The process is simple:
Determine your goal
Commit to your goal by leaping into situations that require you to live up to your goal
Determine the roles you will need to play in the various situations you create
Act the part until you become the part
Develop relationships with people who have your back and can help you achieve your goals
Repeat, but at higher levels with more stretching leaps
What is your goal?
“This is a fundamental irony of most people’s lives. They don’t quite know what they want to do with their lives. Yet they are very active.” — Ryan Holiday
Most people are wandering through life like they wander on the internet, reactively scrolling their newsfeed and landing on the random pages that appear. They haven’t determined what they want, and thus they haven’t consciously designed their environments. Rather, they adapt to and become the product of whatever environments they wander into.
However, when you decide what you want, the universe conspires to make it happen.
How?
When you decide what you want, you set the stage. You get to create the plot, the setting, and the characters that will be in your story. Most importantly, you get to decide which characters — plural — you will play, and how your story will unfold.
Until you decide what you want, you won’t be able to consciously shape your environments. And as a human being, you adapt to and evolve overtime based on your environment. In order to consciously evolve, you must know who you want to become at your next stage.
However, you don’t want to plan too far into the future. When you plan too far ahead, you put a cap on your potential. You begin to see your identity as fixed.
When taking big leaps, you’ll be opened up to new universes of possibilities. At every next level, your perception of your potential and possibilities will radically expand. As Leonardo DiCaprio has said, “Every next level of your life will demand a different you.”
When you decide what you want, you set the stage. You get to create the plot, the setting, and the characters that will be in your story. Most importantly, you get to decide which characters — plural — you will play, and how your story will unfold.
Until you decide what you want, you won’t be able to consciously shape your environments. And as a human being, you adapt to and evolve overtime based on your environment. In order to consciously evolve, you must know who you want to become at your next stage.
However, you don’t want to plan too far into the future. When you plan too far ahead, you put a cap on your potential. You begin to see your identity as fixed.
When taking big leaps, you’ll be opened up to new universes of possibilities. At every next level, your perception of your potential and possibilities will radically expand. As Leonardo DiCaprio has said, “Every next level of your life will demand a different you.”
You have no clue what your potential is or who you can become. There is no cap. You are completely flexible and fluid. Your view of who you want to become will completely change.
I have a friend, Greg, who is 41 years old. He’s successfully started and ran multiple businesses. Twenty years ago, his plan was to get 10 million dollars in the bank and retire by age 40.
However, he’s since achieved that goal and in due process has expanded his view of himself and his potential to contribute. He is actively pursuing goals and meaning beyond anything his 21-year-old-self could ever conceive.
What conditions will make the achievement of your goal inevitable?
“Social psychologists argue that who we are at any one time depends mostly on the context in which we find ourselves. But who creates the context? The more mindful we are, the more we can create the contexts we are in. When we create the context, we are more likely to be authentic. Mindfulness lets us see things in a new light and believe in the possibility of change.”―Ellen Langer
Most people approach goals and personal improvement the hard way. Rather than changing their environment, they strive to overcome their current environment. This is the essence of willpower, our individualistic Western culture’s obsession.
Willpower is the slowest and most ineffective way to evolve — focused on incremental and linear growth. Thus, focusing on willpower as a strategy for change will never allow you to make quantum leaps in your life. Willpower is an uphill battle, continuously dealing with the same situations.
However, when you commit to an enormous goal that far exceeds your current capability, willpower won’t solve your problem. Rather, you’ll need a new environment that organically generates your goals — a context that forces you to become more than you currently are. Once you design the right conditions, your desired behavior naturally follows.
You get to decide what you want. You have the power to create an environment that demands you to grow into your goals.
If you want to become a world-class cyclist, your environment will need to support that goal. If it doesn’t, like most other people you’ll be required to use willpower and you won’t achieve big goals. As Dr. Bruce Lipton has said in his book, The Biology of Belief, “Just like a single cell, the character of our lives is determined not by our genes but by our responses to the environmental signals that propel life.”
Consciously designing your environment is like creating a river that runs directly toward your goals. It’s like entering a slipstream that pulls you forward at increasing speeds.
What role do your environments require you to be?
“Acting is not a metaphor but rather a model that you can apply to both life and work.”―Michael Port
After you’ve decided your goal and created the context, you’ll need to determine the roles or characters you will play to achieve your goals.
The truth is, in every situation and human interaction you’re in, you are performing. Your behavior, and the roles you play in your relationships influence other people.
How do you want to influence those around you?
Who do you need to be to achieve your goals?
What will your voice be?
What is your role?
Authenticity involves deciding who you will be and the character you will play. Even if at first, this character feels unnatural to you. As F. Scott Fitzgerald has said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold to opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
Your most authentic self is who you intend to become. Like the men in Langer’s study, your view of yourself will transform you even on a biological level.
Act as if
“If you want a quality, act as if you already had it.” — William James
You can develop to mastery nearly every quality and ability. Of course, there are certain constraints. I, for example, can’t make myself 7 feet tall. However, if I wanted to, I could become a world-class musician, or leader, or missionary, or entrepreneur, or teacher, or writer, or computer coder.
When it comes to skills and abilities, your potential is seemingly limitless. If you’ve set a clear and definite goal far beyond your current self, created conditions that facilitate that goal, and determined your needed roles, all you need to do is act as if you are already that person.
When you take huge leaps like this, you will absolutely be stretched. Often, it won’t be pretty. You’ll constantly be living beneath your situation. You’ll feel like a fraud. The imposter syndrome will be exquisite. Your current self will often show itself, even when your environment requires you to be so much more.
But, overtime, you will adapt to your environment. You will come to play your role so naturally that you’ll no longer be acting. Acting as if will become acting as is. You will become who you intended to be, which is your most authentic self. And in so doing, the attainment of your goals will be natural and inevitable.
Developing important relationships
“The bigger the dream, the more important the team.” — Robin Sharma
It will be impossible for you to grow into your roles without help from trusted friends and mentors.
In the book, Who’s Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi dispels the myth of the lone professional “superman” and the rest of our culture’s go-it alone mentality.
According to Ferrazzi, the real path to success in work and life is through creating an inner circle of “lifeline relationships.” These are deep, close relationships with a few trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support you need to reach your full potential.
These “lifeline relationships” are the people who make sure you don’t give up and quit. Without these people, you will fail. The situations you’ll put yourself in will be too much for you to handle alone.
In the book, Who’s Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi dispels the myth of the lone professional “superman” and the rest of our culture’s go-it alone mentality.
According to Ferrazzi, the real path to success in work and life is through creating an inner circle of “lifeline relationships.” These are deep, close relationships with a few trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support you need to reach your full potential.
These “lifeline relationships” are the people who make sure you don’t give up and quit. Without these people, you will fail. The situations you’ll put yourself in will be too much for you to handle alone.
Conclusion: Taking massive leaps of faith
“Too many women still seem to believe that they are not allowed to put themselves forward at all, until both they and their work are perfect and beyond criticism. Meanwhile, putting forth work that is far from perfect rarely stops men from participating in the global cultural conversation. I like that feature in men — their absurd overconfidence, the way they will casually decide, ‘Well, I’m 41 percent qualified for this task, so give me the job!’ Yes, sometimes the results are ridiculous and disastrous, but sometimes, strangely enough, it works — a man who seems not ready for the task, not good enough for the task, somehow grows immediately into his potential through the wild leap of faith itself.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
Quantum leaps and instantaneous change are completely available. The growth you seek in your life doesn’t need to be incremental, it can be exponential. You can experience radical — even quantum — improvement.
The process is simple, but not easy. You’ll need to know what you want and take enormous leaps of faith to get there.
You take leaps of faith by putting yourself in demanding situations that require you to be substantially more than you currently are. In those situations, you’ll need to decide who you will need to be and then act as if you are already that person.
As you adapt to your difficult environments, you’ll evolve into a new person with expanded consciousness — stretching your views of yourself and your possibilities.
There is no cap to your potential. Your identity is fluid. You get to choose.
Author: Benjamin P. Hardy
Husband, father of 3 epic foster kids, & pursuing PhD in I/O Psychology. Get my 2 free eBooks at https://benjaminhardy.com/ or connect at @BenjaminPHardy
