Self Confidence, Happiness and Posture
Our use of body posture plays a key role in how we feel. When
we are feeling "down", our bodies show this by hunching the
shoulders, we stare at the floor, our heads hang forward. When
we are seated we tend to be slumped rather than relaxed. Our
walk is more of a shuffle, speech is slow and quiet.
Compare this to how we feel when on an "up". Shoulders back,
eyes forward, head held high and so on.
Do the following exercise yourself and notice the difference
between the two stances.
Firstly, stand up. Think of yourself as an actor who has been
asked to portray a person who is feeling unhappy and sad. How
would you stand? You would have all the physical positions as
described above:-
Hunched shoulders,
staring at the floor,
head dropped forward,
arms hanging limply by your side,
back curved,
shallow breathing,
facial expression lifeless.
How do you feel? Awful, probably!
Now, change your position. The actor has now been asked to play
someone that is full of confidence and happy. Again, how would
you stand?
Shoulders back,
looking forward,
head held up,
arms forward as if offering a hug,
back straight,
deep breathing,
smiling face.
How do you feel now? That's different, eh!
Simply be altering the way we use our bodies automatically has
the effect of changing the way we feel. Even if we have a
genuine reason for feeling unhappy, we can reduce the impact on
our emotions by standing, walking, sitting and talking in a more
confident manner.
Another useful method for raising your self confidence and
changing your mood is to smile.
Even just by putting a smile on to our face can be effective.
Not only does it send a "happy" message to our brains, it also
sends out a signal of confidence to others. This in turn will
generate a more welcoming response from the people with whom you
come into contact. We all respond at some level to a smile
directed at us. It feels good to us and it feels good to the
person sending it.
Notice the way you use your body posture and start practicing
using it to improve the way you feel. Be aware of the times when
you are not feeling the way you would like and how you are using
your body. And, as you become more proficient at it, start
enjoying the better feelings that it generates.