Increase Self-Confidence
With This Easy Technique

by Della Menechella

If you want to increase self-confidence, but you don’t want to wait for days, or weeks, or months to do it, then this technique can help you do it within minutes.

If it seems too good to be true, it isn’t. There is research behind it.

Before we get into the research, take a look at these pictures.

When you look at the photo of this woman, what kind of state of mind do you think she is in?

Do you think she feels positive, optimistic, and self-assured, or unsure, worried, and pessimistic?

How about this woman?

What emotions is she feeling? Does she feel self-doubt, uncertainty, and overwhelm or happy, confident, and looking forward to the future?

If you said the woman in the first photo was experiencing negative feelings and the woman in the second photo was feeling upbeat and positive, you would be right.

You can usually pick up on someone’s mood by how they are using their body. Why?

The Mind-Body Connection

We all have a mind-body connection. The way you use your body is intimately connected with how you feel. The reverse is also true. How you feel automatically affects how you are using your body.

Your mood or emotional state is comprised of two parts –

Your Mind – The things you say to yourself and your mental images.

Your Body – How you are breathing, your posture, the way you are holding your head, your facial expressions, how you are using your muscles.

When you change one part, you automatically change the other part.

You may be asking what this has to do with your ability to increase self-confidence.

Simple. When you find yourself in a negative mood, your first reaction might be to try to change your thoughts. You might talk to yourself to try to encourage yourself to think more positively.

This is a valuable strategy. However, sometimes it can take a great deal of time and effort to get your thoughts into alignment with the way you want to think. Even worse, there are times when no matter how hard you try, you can’t get out of your negative mood.

What is a faster and easier way to feel good?

Change your body. Change your posture, the way you are breathing, the tension in your muscles, your facial expressions, etc.

When you change your body into more empowered physiology, your mood comes along for the ride.

Negative vs. Positive Body Physiology

You don’t have to take my word for it. Try this experiment for yourself.

Disempowered Physiology

Sit in a chair. Slump your shoulders forward. Tilt your head towards the floor. Put a frown on your face and take shallow breaths. Sigh deeply. Imagine that you’ve heard some terrible news. Stay like this for a minute or so.

Notice the thoughts that are coming into your mind. Are they positive or negative?

Stay exactly as you are and don’t move anything! Try to think positive, empowering, confident thoughts.

You can’t do it, can you?

Why? Because when you are in this physiology, you are communicating to your brain to feel bad. And if you stay in this physiology, you can try to change your thinking all day long and it isn’t going to work.

Now stand up and walk around for a minute. Also, can you remember what you had for dinner a week ago? Don’t worry I’m not crazy. I just wanted to get you completely out of that state before we move on. :)

Empowered Physiology

Stand up tall. Roll your shoulders down your back. Tilt your chin up slightly. Put a big smile on your face. Imagine that you’ve just won the Olympic gold medal in your favorite sport and you are hearing the roar and applause of the crowd. Stay like this for a minute or so.

Notice the thoughts that are coming into your mind while you are in this physiology. Do you feel positive or negative?

Stay exactly as you are and try to think of negative thoughts. Keep that smile on your face. No cheating!

You can’t do it can you?

Doesn’t this physiology increase self-confidence? Don’t you feel more empowered and able to achieve your goals? I’m sure you do because when you use your body this way, your brain gets the message to feel good.

When you change your body into more empowered physiology,

your mood comes along for the ride.

How to Increase Self-Confidence – What the Research Shows

Dr. Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist who has done research on how your physiology affects your feelings of power. In this video, she discusses how spending as little as 2 minutes in powerful poses can help you increase self-confidence. Check it out here.

Putting It Into Practice

Now that you know how you can use your physiology to increase self-confidence, how can you put it into practice? Before you go to an important meeting or get on a major call or do anything else where you want to feel strong or powerful, move your body into a posture of power and confidence. You can try Dr. Cuddy’s tips or you can adopt the empowered physiology that you used during the experiment above.

If you want to increase self-confidence then use this easy technique often. Not only will you feel better about yourself, the people around you will feel better about you too.

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