What You Can Learn from Wonder Woman that Could Change Your Life.
At the beginning of the second inning, the boys ran out on the field glowing of confidence. They were already up by eight runs and it felt the championship was almost theirs.
Well, that glow was short lived. After the pitcher had walked four players in a row, the now four-run lead didn’t feel so significant.
As I looked out onto the field I could see the boys’ bodies begin to melt. Their heads and shoulders seemed to shrivel, as did their hopes of winning.
We lost that day.
However, I don’t contribute this loss to player ability alone.
This loss was also the result of body posturing, well and maybe some funky calls from the umpire. ;)
Those sunken shoulders and bowed heads gave away the power those players had.
We all know that our body language can be affected by our emotions.
But did you know that you can control your emotions with your body language?
Amy Cuddy of Harvard University discovered a positive correlation between expansive body posturing and feelings of power. Her research involved two groups participants that went through a rigorous interview. Beforehand they either spent two minutes in an expansive pose (think Wonder Woman) or non-expansive pose (think Eeorye).
Those who took the expansive pose before the interview presented themselves as more confident, enthusiastic, captivating, comfortable and authentic as their counterparts.
I’ll never know if the outcome of that game would have changed had the players taken a power pose for two minutes before getting on the field?
But this thought makes me curious…
Could the power pose empower an individual to be more present and confident in their everyday life?
In her 2012 TEDtalk, Cuddy’ speaks of not just “faking it until you make it”, but rather “fake it until you become it.”
What if we took a power pose in the morning before heading out to our day? What effects would this have?
You know how I love a good a challenge…
This week I challenge you to try a power pose on for size.
Then leave a comment below to share your experience.
So get your Wonder-Woman-pose on and start reaping the benefits.
Click the link below to watch the famous TEDTalk.