Act successful and you will find success

Have you ever found yourself thinking “I don’t belong here” or “why do other people seem so happy and I don’t”? All of us have from time to time. We all wonder the same things and often enough we convince ourselves that we don’t deserve it. We self talk ourselves out of great opportunities in life because we are too scared.

I was watching TED Talks the other day on Netflix and one of the speakers answered just that question. Amy Cuddy has spent her professional career as a professor studying people, and if body language has an effect on happiness, instead of the other way around. Interestingly she found that if you acted as though you were happy, you would almost immediately become it. Most people would have assumed that after repeated activities we would eventually become happy, or assured, or assertive. However the link in your brain with the actions that we make when we are happy is so strong that we are able to overcome many circumstances if we just
“act it out”.

Amy had a great way studying this and found that if you assumed a powerful stance before an interview that presence would continue through the interview and increase the likelihood that you would be hired. She recommended something called the “V”.

(Photo from National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com)
This move is done when humans are victorious. We subconsciously raise our arms in a V. This is an action that is made throughout all cultures and has the same meaning. If before an interview, or a moment that you wish to appear assured, take a few seconds and raise your hands to the air as if you have just landed that new job. That is enough to change your mindset and show to the world around us that we are already victorious.

Body language has an incredible effect on our minds and the minds of those around us. If we learn to use it consciously we can learn so much about our surroundings and why we react to certain people in certain ways. I don’t know about you but the next time I go into an interview or find myself speaking to a group of people I am most certainly doing the “V”.

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