Self-confidence or being confident is something many people desire. Confident people inspire 
confidence in others. Whether it’s quiet confidence or charismatic inspirational confidence (or anything in between), society tends to admire confident people and many individuals wish they were ‘more like them’. We know that a lack of self confidence can hinder success and hold us back, so how can we be more confident?
Whilst I’ve written before about how you can change your thinking to increase confidence, you can also convey confidence in what you say and how you speak as well, however today’s tip is about changing your physiology to improve confidence.
Think for a moment about someone you’ve meet previously that you view as confident. What is their head position? What is their posture like? Where do they look? What about their shoulders? Are they slumped forward or pulled slightly back and relaxed? What about their breathing? What else?
Compare this to a time when you were not feeling confident (or observed someone else not coming across as confident) – where where you/they looking? – down I would guess, how were they stood? …. etc (you get the gist).
Physiology is linked to how we feel (and our thoughts) …
I’m no military expert, but have you ever noticed how military people stand? – straight up and tall, shoulders back, looking straight ahead? – they look really balanced, with weight evenly distributed on both feet …. they look really confident don’t they? I’m not suggesting that all of a sudden you should look like you’re on parade all the time, but it makes the point about how important our physiology is – both in terms of how others perceive us, but more importantly how it makes us feel. Putting your body in a confident physiology sends messages to your brain that helpfully change the way we feel.
Try this confidence hack …
Take a moment to stand up and start to recall a time when you perceived you lacked confidence – spend a few moments recalling that time, what was going on, how you felt etc. Notice how your are standing as you recall that time. When you are ready adjust how you are standing in line with the confident physiology above and notice how your feelings change – interesting isn’t it?
Think of a time in the future where you believe you might not have felt confident – think about it for a moment, then adjust your physiology and notice how your feelings change …
So next time you want to increase your confidence, put this confidence hack into play and you’ll be surprised how it changes how you feel.
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Laura is passionate about helping people realise their potential, and achieve the results they deserve. She believes, if you change your thinking, you can change your results. If you’d like to find out more about Unleash Your Potential, you can check out our NLP courses and coaching options, and link up with us via our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter or link up with Laura via LinkedIn. You can of course also email us at: [email protected]
