Day 14

 

Welcome to Day 14!
 

Today is all about tapping into your best self.  We all have that person inside us that shows up some days raring to go, full of energy, confidence and feeling unstoppable, right?  On those rare occasions when the news chooses to focus on positivity, we hear about people who do amazing things like the woman who picked up an SUV because her husband was trapped underneath.  Or the man who punched a shark who had bitten his nephew’s arm off.  Who does that stuff???  We do… or we can.

 

Unfortunately that person doesn’t show up every day.  That’s ok because we don’t want or need to be at our peak state every minute.  But how do we tap into it if we want it?  To answer this question for myself and my students, I started to notice the people who seemed to be better at it than most – the celebrities.  Now we all know their lives are not perfect but when they step onto the red carpet in their various professions, they certainly make it look that way. 

 

So what is it they do that’s totally within their power and responsibility, something no handler, no make-up artist, no agent can do for them?  I broke it down into parts and named it, what else?  Star POWER!

 

Each letter of the world POWER represents a component of what I think they tap into.  Today we’re going to focus on the first one – the P.  It stands for Physiology and represents the way we carry ourselves and what we put into our bodies. 

 

Think about the way those celebrities walk the carpet.  They stand with shoulders back, head held high.  They walk with a confident air, assume the poses they’re asked to assume.  They may not feel like standing this way but they will be harshly judged if they slouch or physically move themselves in anything but a confident manner. 

 

The good news is we can do the same.  You’ve probably heard ‘act as-if’ or ‘fake it til you make it’.  This applies here.  Changing the positioning of your body into a strong one changes how you look but it also changes how you feel.  I read years ago that most body positions connect with specific emotions.  In  live seminars, I ask participants to stand as if they’re sad.  Within seconds, everyone in the room has their heads down, their eyes down and their shoulders slumped.  It’s remarkable but it’s how we’re wired.  It’s why someone says, “Smile, you’ll feel better” when we’re not at our best.  We smile when we’re happy but we can also start to get happy by changing the body position.

 

Corporations have seminars just on this topic to help their managers be better leaders.  The military is all about body position.  Troops must stand at attention which is the strong physiology they need.

 

So how do we use this?  Got a stressful situation coming up – a speech or sales presentation, a tough discussion with a co-worker or family member?  Stand in your best body position and stride in. 

 

Changing your body position can be good for stress relief as well.  We spend so much time sitting at our computers that our bodies need to be stretched out.  Go take a walk or if you’re stressed enough someone may tell you to ‘go take a hike!’  Either way, you’re kicking your body into motion and starting to feel better.

 

The other part of physiology is what you put into your body.  What’s good for us keeps changing so I won’t suggest specifics.  Also we all have our own beliefs about our food supply, what’s healthy and what isn’t.  From a positivity standpoint, poor nutrition can contribute to depression whether from the actual food itself or the effect on appearance and health.  Pretty much all sources suggest that we stay hydrated as poor hydration can affect our moods. We’re 80% water so we need to keep that replenished.

 

One final note about body and positivity/stress level.  Do your best to get enough sleep.  I know for many of you that is something that’s truly difficult to do.  But that’s the time the body heals, when those good chemicals have a chance.  It’s when the body resets itself.  Figure out what you need to feel your best self and do what you have to do to get that sleep if you can.  If you can’t, try those power naps I mentioned previously.  They have been my saving grace especially in the years when I was teaching school, running a flight school and doing theatre at night.  Those saved me.

 

Mission today:  Smile…a lot.  It lifts your mood, is contagious and makes you feel better.

 

P.S.  Now you can choose to continue to the next day or wait until tomorrow.  Either way, here's a link to the next chapter.