We all face doubts on the road to realizing our dreams. “Faking til you make it” might be a quick fix, but it’s not a sustainable strategy.

Faking it leads to imposter syndrome and the fear of being perceived as inauthentic. Acting confident, even when you aren’t, takes incredible effort. It gobbles up the precious energy you need to unleash your potential.

A better path to self-belief.

Tackling self-doubt requires a transformative shift—from masking your insecurities to embracing them with honesty, persistence and teachability.

Faking confidence may get you some initial outward success. However, it destroys the chance of true success that rests on who you’ve become rather than what you’ve accomplished.

Confidence based on externals is fragile. As they say in show business, you’re only as good as your last show. Translation: Confidence goes up and down based on successes and failures. A perspective like that is a guarantee of anxiety.

Alternatives to Fake It Til You Make It.

Face It Til You Ace It

Embrace challenges honestly, paving the way for genuine growth.

Learn It Til You Earn It

Focus on continuous learning with humility and teachability as your guide.

Be It Til You See It:

Be or model the successful traits you admire until they become a natural part of who you are.

The right words matter.

Words and phrases are powerful because they shape narratives, guide perceptions and influence opinions. What you tell yourself about yourself is an affirmation of your identity.

Faking it signals you’re a fraud getting away with something. Facing it says you’re honest and courageous. Learning it means you’re humble enough to know what you don’t know. Modeling demonstrates you are proactive and persistent.

Action→Adopt a new phrase and put it into practice.

To start believing in yourself, choose an area in your career or life where self-doubt is an issue. Follow through with these three steps:

• Get clear on how you have been faking confidence.
• Shift to a strategy of facing, learning or modeling, depending on which feels most genuine.
• Follow through for at least a couple of weeks to assess the difference in your self-belief.

What this looks like in practice:

Career Change: When starting a new position, express your learning curve openly. Face the transition humbly and learn continuously, striving to gradually ace the necessary skills to excel in your new role.

Financial Literacy: To master your money instead of being enslaved to it, dedicate time to learning about investments, budgeting and financial planning. Continuously learn until you earn a solid understanding of managing finances.

Leadership Aspirations: When aiming to land a leadership role, be attentive to the communication and decision-making styles of leaders you admire. Be these traits by modeling them until you see yourself naturally embodying these leadership qualities in your unique way.

Believing in your potential is the precursor to living your potential. Toss the old-school strategy of “faking it” out the window. Get on the authentic path of facing, learning or modeling your way into the success you want.

Until next week, take care.

Jo-Aynne Von Born, Leadership and Executive Coach