In every moment we are awake, we can choose the way we want to feel. It starts with our thoughts and emotions. Our body then adjusts to match these thoughts and emotions. If you want to have a more positive outlook on your life, look at your posture when you sit, walk and the way you move. Walking with your chest out and your head in line with your shoulders will bring you more confidence and little changes to the way you sit, stand and carry yourself in general can have a huge impact in how others treat you.

Take a moment right now and think about a sad person sitting in a chair. How do they look? Is their head up or down? Are they sitting up straight or are they more slumped over? Now let us imagine this is someone you love like a family member. How do you approach them? Do you come in all smiling and happy or do you approach them more passively? Now let us change the example slightly and say that they are angry. How do they hold themselves? Do you feel like approaching them or not? What if they are happy? How are they sitting in the chair and how does your approach to them change? The posture that others have effects the way we treat them. It also effects the way others treat us.

So how can this effect our life in other ways? Think back to the last interview you had. Did you feel nervous, anxious or scared? If you did you are like millions of other people in the world. In this interview, were you able to fake the confidence you wanted to project? What was the first thing you did to project confidence? Probably sat up straight in your chair followed by taking a deep breath to calm yourself down so your voice wouldn't crack.

Let us pretend that you are the hiring manager and you are interviewing two people; one with a frightened look on their face and bad posture and the other who appears relaxed and confident. They both have identical qualifications. Who do you hire? Most people in this situation would hire the more relaxed and confident candidate. If that candidate was you, then you got the job. This is one example of how our posture can effect the course of our lives.

We all have different moods throughout the day and our body naturally adjusts the way we move, sit and stand to match our mood. What few realize is that this mechanism works in reverse as well. If you consciously change your posture, your mood will change. It may not be instant (though it could be), but it will happen in a short amount of time. When your posture changes for the better, your mood will improve and so will your thoughts. You will then be more open to others and have a stronger sense of confidence.

How do you change your mood with your posture? Fake it 'till you make it!

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