Use Your Body

YOUR BODY IS A POWERFUL TOOL

When it comes to confidence, the body is a powerful tool that you can tap into in two ways.

confidence, anxiety, overwhelm

The Body as a Cue

Before you become aware that something or someone has hit your confidence trigger, your body is already in motion. By noticing the cue, you can calm yourself down and choose your response rather that reacting with that old, less confident default.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Figure out what your cues are.  Think of a situation that makes you really uncomfortable.  Notice where and how you feel it in your body.  Come common cues are tight shoulders, quickening heart rate, and liquid belly.  Mine?  My spit dries up and my ears get red hot!

  2. The next time you feel the cue, take a few deep breaths. If you’re in front of people, like in a meeting, it’s ok – you can still do it.  (A simple expressionless pause while you fill your belly with air a few times merely looks like contemplation.) 

  3. During the pause, choose how you want to respond and give it a try.

  4. Don’t worry if it doesn’t always go well.  The power is in the choosing.  Over time, you will get better and better at it and I guarantee you, your confidence will increase.

The Body as an Energizer

The way you hold your body tells your mind how you feel.  You can learn to feel more confident by:

  1. Smiling.  The act of smiling sets of a series of hormones in your body that makes you feel happier and more at ease.

  2. Adopting a power pose.  This strategy was popularized be Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk, Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are. By holding your body in poses that feel powerful either before or during important interaction you’re telling your brain that you are powerful.

  3. Jumping, flapping, shouting and hooting.  Yep. You heard right, a little hopping and hooting gets the juices flowing and fills you with energy and buoyancy. Check out Tony Robbins before he goes on stage.  

What’s Next?

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Wendy PerrottiComment