Fake it Until You Make it..?

Fake it 'til you make it" is a popular quote from music legend Steve Tyler, which is used globally as a confidence building catch phrase. I personally have confidence problems when giving presentations and talking in front of a group of people, most people don't believe I'm actually quite shy but when I get to know people I am the exact opposite! My confidence is a massive hindrance to me at uni and has often prevented me from gaining the grades I could achieve and meeting new people. Whilst giving presentations and feeling outside my 'comfort zone' I have often thought about this phrase and it has helped me quite a lot.

I apply this catchy phrase to public speaking but is it used for other purposes? Are there parts of our lives we fake until we 'make'? Relationships for example, are we just pretending to feel certain ways to get what we want? To be more interested in that barman than we are to get free drinks? To be more charming and accommodating to our tutors to gain an advantage against our peers? To be super nice to that security guard to prevent getting warnings about noise complaints? We've all been there.

Life is filled with ulterior motives and people with not entirely honest intentions, but we all seem to get by. I feel this is probably because we all do it. Some people obviously more than others, but to a certain degree I think that everyone has somewhat of a 'fake' side.

In the business world this could be seen as being proactive to make the deals and bring home the bacon by charming your way around people - but in real life how much of it is fake and how much of it is human nature?