Before I start, I gotta thank @Damian Pros for mentioning this topic in his AMA, that was the first time I ever heard about this topic. I think everyone on here can benefit from this.
Recent researches show that powerful and effective leaders not only share similar mindsets, but also similar hormone levels.
More specifically: their levels of testosterone are higher and their levels of cortisol lower.
But what do those two do?
Well, higher levels of testosterone (in men and women) lead to increased feelings of confidence and lower levels of cortisol lead to decreased anxiety and an improved ability to deal with stress.
Put simple, you feel more confident and less stressed.
Alright, so far so good, sounds interesting right?
It does. But what's even more interesting is that the levels of those hormones can change pretty fast dependent on social, physical and environmental cues.
One of those physical cues happens to be none less than Body Language.
Done right, your body language can increase your levels of testosterone and at the same time decrease your levels of cortisol aka making you more confident and less stressed.
Shut up with that theoretical stuff and tell me how to apply it Supa! You may scream now, so let's jump right into the HOW now that we are done with the WHY.
Well, it appears that there are 2 kinds of body poses, according to Amy Cuddy (a researcher at Harvard):
Here's a link to Amy Cuddy's TED talk about Power Poses.
Low Power Body Language and High Power Body Language.
The names are pretty much self-explanatory, Low Power Poses decrease your levels of testosterone and increase your levels of cortisol. In other words, the exact opposite of what we'd like to achieve: you feel less confident and are more prone to stress.
Doesn't sound appealing right?
Not really.
You may even have done those Low Power Poses without knowing, at least until you read this thread
I'll show you those poses in a few seconds.
To increase our levels of testosterone and lower our levels of cortisol we can take advantage of the so called High Power Poses.
Performing those has an increasing effect on our testosterone levels while at the same time an decreasing effect on our cortisol levels.
Now comes the best part of it.
Ready?
It doesn't take you more than 2 minutes a day to do those High Power Poses.
Ok sorry I was wrong, that wasn't the best part of it.
The best part of it is..
It has an immediate effect on your testosterone and cortisol levels.
In other words, in 2 minutes or less of doing those High Power Poses you feel more confident and less stressed.
But what am I still talking, let that graph speak for itself:
Most of us already know about the importance of changing our mindsets to ones that people who already achieved what we want to achieve have.
Well, you just added another layer to this: changing your body language to one that those people have, aswell.
Alright, here's how those Poses look:
You can clearly see that High Power body language is open and relaxed and Low Power body language is closed and guarded.
My favorite one, and IMO most effective is the Wonder Woman pose (middle of top row.)
Try it and you will know why..
Great moments to do the High Power Poses are under the shower, in the morning after getting up, before you're about to do something that may lead outside of your comfort zone, and literally every other situation that can benefit from higher confidence and being less stressed.
Alright guys and gals that's it.
There's no amount of talking or writing that can convince you more than just doing it and feeling it for yourself.
Recent researches show that powerful and effective leaders not only share similar mindsets, but also similar hormone levels.
More specifically: their levels of testosterone are higher and their levels of cortisol lower.
But what do those two do?
Well, higher levels of testosterone (in men and women) lead to increased feelings of confidence and lower levels of cortisol lead to decreased anxiety and an improved ability to deal with stress.
Put simple, you feel more confident and less stressed.
Alright, so far so good, sounds interesting right?
It does. But what's even more interesting is that the levels of those hormones can change pretty fast dependent on social, physical and environmental cues.
One of those physical cues happens to be none less than Body Language.
Done right, your body language can increase your levels of testosterone and at the same time decrease your levels of cortisol aka making you more confident and less stressed.
Shut up with that theoretical stuff and tell me how to apply it Supa! You may scream now, so let's jump right into the HOW now that we are done with the WHY.
Well, it appears that there are 2 kinds of body poses, according to Amy Cuddy (a researcher at Harvard):
Here's a link to Amy Cuddy's TED talk about Power Poses.
Low Power Body Language and High Power Body Language.
The names are pretty much self-explanatory, Low Power Poses decrease your levels of testosterone and increase your levels of cortisol. In other words, the exact opposite of what we'd like to achieve: you feel less confident and are more prone to stress.
Doesn't sound appealing right?
Not really.
You may even have done those Low Power Poses without knowing, at least until you read this thread
I'll show you those poses in a few seconds.
To increase our levels of testosterone and lower our levels of cortisol we can take advantage of the so called High Power Poses.
Performing those has an increasing effect on our testosterone levels while at the same time an decreasing effect on our cortisol levels.
Now comes the best part of it.
Ready?
It doesn't take you more than 2 minutes a day to do those High Power Poses.
Ok sorry I was wrong, that wasn't the best part of it.
The best part of it is..
It has an immediate effect on your testosterone and cortisol levels.
In other words, in 2 minutes or less of doing those High Power Poses you feel more confident and less stressed.
But what am I still talking, let that graph speak for itself:
Most of us already know about the importance of changing our mindsets to ones that people who already achieved what we want to achieve have.
Well, you just added another layer to this: changing your body language to one that those people have, aswell.
Alright, here's how those Poses look:
You can clearly see that High Power body language is open and relaxed and Low Power body language is closed and guarded.
My favorite one, and IMO most effective is the Wonder Woman pose (middle of top row.)
Try it and you will know why..
Great moments to do the High Power Poses are under the shower, in the morning after getting up, before you're about to do something that may lead outside of your comfort zone, and literally every other situation that can benefit from higher confidence and being less stressed.
Alright guys and gals that's it.
There's no amount of talking or writing that can convince you more than just doing it and feeling it for yourself.
Feel Great. Do Great Things.
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