Pretence?

"Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem."
- Maugham

There is a truth in this statement, because for a long time I have said that if you pretend to be able to do something or to be something you often find yourself able to, or being that.

This situation can of course be both useful and displeasing. If one has a vivid imagination and pretends to murder, one may find dead bodies close at hand one day. However, if one struggles with life, and day to day living, but pretends to be fine, one may find themselves coping admirably and gaining friends to help them out of their pretence and into a real independence.

However, I am also sure there are some deeper issues here, but it is late and I am unable to discover them enough to put them into words.