Oct
2017
Something New…
Due to my ever-present obsession with TED talks, I found myself hours deep on the website Sunday night. Watching video after video, I was more than content to say the least. Two TED talks in particular caught my attention and made me rethink my life a little bit.
Early on in my marathon, I found myself watching the very well-known TED talk, “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” given by Amy Cuddy. She explained the impact that power-posing can have on how someone feels and how they are perceived by others. She described “power-posing” as holding a stance that makes you feel powerful, whether thats standing up with your hands in the air or sitting up straight in a chair.
Standing in a posture with confidence can make one feel happier, more confident, and can even lead to more success in life. Amy Cuddy suggests holding a power-pose before any situation in which you want to be perceived well by others, such as a job interview, or when you want to be more confident in yourself, maybe when speaking up in class.
I have always been more introverted than extroverted throughout my life, and there have definitely been times when I wished I could just gain confidence in myself and what I’m doing, whether it was presenting in front of a class or in a job interview. After watching this TED talk, I thought to myself, why haven’t I been doing this my entire life????? I want to try this “power-posing” thing and see if it really works.
And that’s where the second TED talk that I watched comes in.
Matt Cutts performed a TED talk about trying something new for 30 days. He said to think about something that you’ve always wanted to add to your life and just try it for 30 days. Thats it. And if you do it and hate it, at the end of 30 days it can be over, or if you love it, keep it in your life. If you really want something enough, you can do anything for 30 days, within reason of course.
So that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I am going to try something new for the next 30 days. I want to wake up and power-pose everyday before starting whatever I have planned for the day. Hopefully Amy Cuddy and Matt Cutts were right. Hopefully I can stick with power-posing for 30 days, and hopefully it helps me with my self-confidence and how others perceive me.
dqw5166
October 13, 2017 at 4:27 pm (7 years ago)Wow, what a weird parallel that you saw the one video and then the other. I love TedTalks as well and think they can provide some insane insights and ideas. I think pose is a very natural way to establish yourself in a room and it is something we don’t think about, it is natural. When you say you are going to power-pose, which one will you choose? Good luck on your 30 day journey and I’ll be looking out to make sure you power pose.
rbv5043
October 13, 2017 at 4:37 pm (7 years ago)I had a teacher my junior year that would make us occasionally do power poses if we felt stressed out and I have to say, maybe it was psychological, but, it really did help to take the edge off. We did like a tree pose thing and it was funny which definitely helped to calm everyone down when we were super stressed about tests and stuff. I think that whole “trying something new for 30 days” thing sounds so cool! I really wanna try it too!
crp5406
October 13, 2017 at 4:39 pm (7 years ago)Very cool passion blog! TED talks are awesome and a great way to learn about anything in life. I will have to watch Amy Cuddy’s TED talks some time because I also wished I could gain confidence in myself and what I’m doing sometimes similar to you! Also Matt Cutts TED talk sounds very interesting. I’ll have to watch it some time and give it some thought. Keep up the great work!
Isabel Najjar
October 13, 2017 at 4:41 pm (7 years ago)I love the talk about trying something new for 30 days. There are so many things I dream about doing that would make me healthier or happier or smarter, but the idea of actually starting those habits can be really daunting– especially when your goal is taking on that habit for life. The thirty day goal is a way to incorporate a new habit into your lifestyle with all the pressure removed– I think that’s so smart.
vxn24
October 13, 2017 at 4:42 pm (7 years ago)It’s really amazing how posture can affect both how I perceive myself, and how others perceive me. I notice that when I sit up straighter, I get a lot more productive and confident. I’m one of those people who thinks that someone is always watching me, so I better look my best. This is why when I catch myself slouching, I get insecure that someone saw me like that, and judged me for being lazy and tired. Also, I’m not that short (I’m 5’4″), but standing up straighter makes me feel 6 feet tall, which is a good confidence boost. While this isn’t exactly power posing, I can see how posture is correlated with confidence and how you present yourself.