Benefits of habit “Strike a pose”
✓ Improves confidence
✓ Helps increase self-esteem
✓ Helps develop look of professionalism
✓ Relieves stress
First step:
✓ Get into a pose for 10 seconds
Progress:
1. Before any social encounter that makes you nervous, adopt a confident pose in front of a mirror. Make yourself emanate confidence and count to 10.
2. Next time, increase the counting to 20.
3. Keep increasing, or timing yourself, till you pose for 2 minutes before every stressful social interaction.
Helpful tips to make it a habit:
✓ Trigger your mind. Habit develops best when done at the same time, but since you are unable to plan every social interaction on the same time, make sure to use the stress you feel as a trigger to strike your pose. Your brain will slowly remember to do it on its own, but help it at the beginning to actively remember it’s time. Have a note on your mirror to remind you as well.
✓ Let the app help. When you plan your meetings, whether social or work-related, make sure to set a reminder for your posing time. You can also use a timer to track your intervals if need be.
✓ Reward yourself. Once you’ve gone to at least 5 meetings with confidence, reward yourself by confidently buying new clothes. Nothing adds to your confident look that new attire. Make sure you keep developing your look.
✓ Celebrate small victories. Every time you perform this habit, congratulate yourself! Say “I’m awesome” or “I’m so cool” out loud and with a smile on your face.
Tips for beginners:
✓ Learn to pose. Stand with your feet apart, put arms on your hips and tilt your chin up. Also, for more casual appearances, put your shoulders back, thrust your chest forward and also keep your chin slightly tilted upwards, keeping your hands straight down in the case. Practice a few positions that feel comfortable for you and adjust your posture accordingly.
✓ Learn about body language. Just like you’re learning to appear more powerful, others might be doing the same instinctively. Or you may find that other people assume more subservient positions once you appear more powerful. Or maybe you need to tone it down a little bit. Educate yourself and adapt to the situation accordingly.