You may or may not have heard this expression but how does it work?

If you feel sad, how do you fake feeling happy?

If you are shy, how do you fake feeling confident?

If you are in turmoil, how do you fake internal peace?

Simple! Change your posture and the way you move! Fake the posture of the person you want to be.

Have you ever observed the posture and movement of a different people? Some people may have their head maybe slumped forward, looking down, shoulders rounded, palms facing backwards and dragging their feet.  How do you think this posture reflects their mood? This posture over a long period of time can have negative effects upon their health and well-being.

Compare the posture above to that of a person who tends to stand tall, look up, shoulders back, chest out, and has a relaxed yet purposeful walk.

By being consciously aware of your posture and how you move your body surprising things may happen. You may begin to feel like a confident happy person. The final step could happen naturally- a beautiful smile.

Due to injury I have been practising improving my posture. One of my colleagues made a positive comment regarding how I was now walking. I was very pleased.

Unfortunately a few weeks later I was having a challenging time. These issues began to dominate my thoughts and little did I notice how my posture had deteriorated.  I had to return my focus to my posture and now I am walking tall again which has left me feeling far better to face the world.

This experience made me contemplate, could adopting a confident and happy posture make you more emotionally resilient? By emotionally resilient I mean have the ability to sail over those challenges that are part of life.

When you next leave the house, stand up tall.

Let your arms relax and fall.

Hold your head up high,

While you look the world in the eye

Relax your mouth and let it smile.

It’s all been worth while.

Mark- The Alchemist’s Journey