Create “As If…”

Women’s basketball has a lot in common with creativity, right? Well, only if you look at the fascinating career of a coaching icon named Kathy Delaney-Smith.

She has won more games than any other women’s basketball coach in the Ivy League. She coached sixteenth-seeded Harvard in the NCAA tournament against the top-ranked Stanford team—and won. That was in 1998 when no Ivy League women’s team had ever won a game in the prestigious tournament. This astonishing victory was masterminded by Coach Delaney-Smith with a philosophy she calls “as if”.

New York Times Reporter Melissa Johnson describes it as “a method—a learned skill for convincing your mind that you already are what you want to become. The body follows where the mind leads.”

The Coach says, “Act as if you’re a great shooter. Act as if you love the drill. Act as if when you hit the deck it doesn’t hurt.” Negativity is not tolerated. The power of belief does the rest. In this case, belief fueled a team to victory.

As a Creative, you can fuel yourself into a new zone. You can convince your mind that you already are what you want to become. So, act as if your canvas will be luminous. Act as if your blog will be widely quoted. Act as if you love the stall that your business is experiencing. Act as if you are a great speaker. You get the idea.

I remember the first time I introduced myself to a stranger as “an artist.” The words almost stuck in my throat.  “Do you really think you can get away with being called an artist?” my Inner Gremlin queried. I pushed that negative thought away and went right on. Amazingly, the more I called myself an artist, the more I became one!

Our minds are powerful. Our beliefs set the stage (or not) for success. So use your mind to your advantage. Meditate and visualize yourself creating “as if…” See how your positive thinking can take your creativity to where you want it to become.