Self-Esteem Exercises: Assume the Position
Here are my go-to self-esteem exercises. Sometimes we just need a quick fix for an instant boost in confidence!
Self-esteem exercises:
STRIKE A POSE
What Is A Power Pose?
A power pose is a particular way to stand or sit that gives you an instant boost in confidence and courage. Research done on power poses even suggests that your body language or the pose you strike influences your hormones. In particular the poses I'm about to share with you give you a boost of testosterone if you hold them for about two minutes.
You can strike these poses standing up or sitting down, and use them anytime you need that little extra confidence boost.
How To Strike A Power Pose
The easiest power pose in my mind is the "Wonder Woman." Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips. Look at a picture of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman to get the perfect image of this pose.
When you're at your desk, lean back in your chair, put your hands behind your head, and put your feet up on your desk for another strong power pose. If you don't want your feet on your desk or are in an environment where that isn't possible, lean back in your chair, keep your knees apart and rest your arm on the back of the chair or put it behind your head.
Simply standing up tall, or standing at the table during a meeting with your hands on the table, leaning in slightly can have a big impact. The most important thing is to not hunch over and don't cross your arms in front of your body.
When To Strike A Power Pose
You can strike these power poses whenever you need to. It's a good habit to spend two minutes in the morning before you get your day started doing your favorite power pose. This will set a confident tone for the rest of your day. Strike a pose throughout the day any time you feel less than confident. You can do these poses just about anywhere for a quick confidence boost break. Head to the bathroom if you feel silly standing like a superhero in the middle of the room.
Self-esteem exercises:
FAKE IT
I'm sure you've heard the expression "Fake It 'Til You Make It." It's most often used in the context of entrepreneurship and entertainment. The idea is to act like you're a big deal and great success until you actually are. While it may sound odd at first, it turns out that faking it actually works. It makes you pay attention to what the people that have already made it in your chosen business or career, do on a daily basis. How do they act, talk, dress, and what are their habits? You have to first start to pay attention and figure those things out, and then you start to model or copy them. In the end, you start to develop some of the same habits successful people have and as a result you yourself will hopefully become more successful. Of course, being perceived as a big deal by those around you doesn't hurt either.
Here's where things get interesting for us. It turns out that faking confidence works to make us actually feel more confident. Let me repeat that. Faking confidence makes you more confident. That's pretty amazing, isn't it? Here are a few ideas on how we can tap into this idea and use it to our advantage.
The basic idea is to simply start acting confidently. Stand up tall and go for it. Keep pretending to be self-confident until you start to feel it for real. Ask yourself what the confident and courageous version of yourself would do and then do it.
If you don't feel very confident at the beginning stop and ask yourself what you would do if you were more confident. Let's look at an example. Let's say you're at a social gathering where you don't know anyone but you should be mingling and meeting new people. The shy version of yourself wants to go hide in the corner and fade into the background. What would a confident person do? He or she would walk in there tall with a big smile and start making small talk. That's exactly what you'll be doing. Pretend you're confident. If this seems hard, or intimidating, make yourself fake confidence for five minutes. You can do this. After those five minutes, you've talked to at least one person. That may be just what you need to get comfortable in this new situation and no matter what happens, you'll start to feel more comfortable and confident after this little exercise.
The surprising thing is that, once you get in the habit of faking confidence, you will start to feel more self-confident for real. I encourage you to give these self-esteem exercises a try today. Before long you'll be more self-confident and courageous in anything you decide to tackle, and that's a great thing.
Self-esteem exercises:
BONUS QUICK FIXES
....and now for a couple more self-esteem exercises...
For a feel-good confidence boost, try my FREE CONFIDENCE BOOSTER HYPNOSIS SESSION!
Become an EXPLORER OF LIFE:)