“Acting as if” is a really great way to make your day go better.

My husband and I belong to a small group comprised of four couples from our church.

Last week, we all shared how there’s a certain grocery story (big box kind, not Walmart) that tests our patience. So I decided to make it a challenge for each of us.

The next time we are at this store, especially when we are checking out, we’re all trying to be as patient and polite as we can be.

It’s not easy. Frankly, the work ethic of many of them is just to get the job done so they can go home. They seldom smile or say “hello”. They barely even acknowledge your presence.

I was the first to take on this challenge as I went grocery shopping yesterday. I did everything short of kissing the young man who waited on me but what did I get in return?

Nada.

Nothing.

The only response I got to my perky questions, such as
“Isn’t the sunshine great?” “Are you eager for Spring?”, was a grunt.

Seriously.

I so wanted to tell him how rude he was.

But I didn’t. Instead, I smiled and carried on and told him “thank-you”.

I didn’t change him the least, but I felt terrific when I left.

I had acted “as if”. Was it disingenuous ?

No, because I really did want to have a pleasant experience. “Acting as if” is only hyprocisy if you are trying to fool someone or lie to someone. When you’re doing it to make the world a better place, it’s fine. Kind of like engaging in “small talk”.

If we start to act as if we’re happy, we will certainly start to feel that way because of the way others respond to us. We will experience more smiles coming our way and this will reinforce our good feelings. And even if we don’t, smiling at others will help them. Sometimes, our problems are small compared to other’s.

Try to act today “as if depression were a thing of the past.” Pretty soon, it will be.

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