Improving your posture and stance

Posture and stance exercises

Some people have a way about them that just makes them stand out. But why? Quite often it’s to do with their posture. That’s because the way you hold yourself has a major impact on your body language and the perception people have of you. You don’t need to say anything to give a negative impression; poor posture can give it away on its own.

This simple exercise can make a massive difference to the way you hold yourself. You’ll need a mirror for the exercise, preferably a full-size one so that you can see your whole body.

So - You need to stand in front of the mirror – but, before you do that, focus on making a conscious effort to stand naturally, just as you normally would.

Now look at yourself – have a really good look and ask yourself a simple question: ‘Do I look confident?’

If you don’t think so or you’re not sure, try experimenting a little – These tips should really help –

1. Try holding your head up.
2. Consciously push by getting your chin up to do this
3. Then breathe in and push your chest out a little
4. Keep your back straight
5. Then push your shoulders back.  Your aim is to look relaxed and yet aware and proud.
6. The simple act of positioning one foot slightly in front of the other can make a difference, try it to see what I mean. This can help you to look more confident when standing in front of or within a group. The alternative is to ‘plant’ yourself with both feet on the same line. Try this too and you’ll see that it doesn’t look quite so natural and probably doesn’t feel so natural either.
7. Always make sure you have a small gap between your feet when you’re standing; you’ll look rather stiff and tense if you keep them tight together.
8. Try to distribute 40 per cent of your weight through your heels and 60 per cent throughout the ball of your foot and your toes. This brings your body position slightly forward and helps you to look more alert and interested.
9. If you’re presenting to a group, as long as you don’t march up and down, there’s nothing wrong with moving a little as you talk. It’ll help you to look more relaxed. It should also help you to engage everyone in the group; Try moving your body to face people when you look at them, perhaps when asking or answering a question. Even if it’s just your upper body this can help to create a stronger link with them and send a confident message.

These simple changes in your posture and stance will help you to look and feel more sure of yourself.
They’ll also help you to look more prominent. The reason for this is simple – having an open posture automatically takes up more space. It sends a physical message that you’re not afraid. It also stops you looking defensive or shy.

Mike McClement

Breaking habits

Ever struggled to break a habit? Breaking habits is a lot easier if you know how

First thing to say is don't worry about it - we all fall into bad habits every now and then. But how do you get out? How can you get better at breaking habits?

Not wishing to get too dramatic about it but breaking a bad habit or getting into one of the good habits I blog about really can mak a huge difference to your confidence levels. I know this because they have actually changed the lives of some of the people I've worked with.

There are a few essentials to reflect on first though if you struggling with bad habits;

• Don't try to do too much at once. Tackle one habit at a time.
• Commit to the habit for 21 days, no less. It takes 21 days to get used to the change and for the habit to form.
• Write down what it entails and what changes you will have to make in your lifestyle.
• Tell people about it, don't keep it secret - that way you'll feel more accountable.
• Track your progress carefully, each day. Keep a diary of events.
• Think about how you can reward yourself when you succeed.
• If you fail, work out why and then try again.
• Never, never, never give up.

OK, so what's first? ... pretty simple really; you need to flick a switch. You need to flick the switch in your head. It's 'off' at the moment. 'Off' means you'll carry on as normal ... in a rut. 'On' means accepting that change is going to happen. You'll never be able to flick the switch though if you don't start thinking positively.

So, good habit Number 1 is Commit yourself

But how?
Commitment comes through self-discipline and positive thinking. Without these, you'll have no chance with any of the other habits you take on. I worked this out when I failed at writing my first book. I failed for one simple reason; I fell into the trap of thinking negatively about it. Eventually I successfully convinced myself that it was a bad idea; I didn't have enough time, knowledge, expertise, ability, self-discipline .....

But when I learnt how to ignore negative thoughts and focus on the positives instead, it wasn't long before Id made a start. Personally, I learnt a lot from this experience - so much that it's helped me with other good habits. In fact, I'd say it's been invaluable. I certainly wouldn't be writing this blog for instance - I would have already convinced myself that it wasn't worth it because nobody will read it. WRONG!

To take on the habit of positive thinking, you'll need self-discipline. Be more aware of when you start thinking and talking negatively. Make a note of when this happens and when you're most vulnerable. Then correct yourself. Do this religiously until you're in the habit. One tip is to stay away from negative people; they'll just make it more difficult for you. So mix with positive people - you'll see a big difference in your own behaviour just by doing this.

Good Luck!
Mike McClement

Personal Development Learning Platform

Just to let everyone know that our new Personal Development Learning Platform is almost ready. It's revolutionary! .. and we're really proud of it!

It'll be packed with helpful personal development learning resources. You can access a huge variety of engaging material in all sorts of different formats - the whole idea being that YOU take control of your own personal development, wherever & whenever you want.
Choose from videos, courses, personality tests, top tips - you can even have your own personal mentor!

Drop me an email if you'd like to find out more - then I'll can contact you straightaway when the platform is fully available.

Hope you like it!

Mike McClement

Positive thinking

Does positive thinking help your self-confidence?

There's no doubt that not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. BEWARE though! Accepting that positive thinking actually works is the first step to increased self-confidence, only then can you start to consider how to achieve it and then how to use it effectively to build your confidence and motivation.

How do you describe yourself when someone asks you if you're a positive or negative thinker or they ask if you're an optimist or a pessimist? If you're not sure, it's important to work it out.

Try asking yourself if you see your glass as half full or half empty. Half full? that's good - you're thinking the right way; you're likely to think more positively. Half empty? well, I'd like to help by sending out a little wake up call - you need to start trying to change your mindset straight away.
And don't forget - it's absolutely true that optimistic people are more likely to stay healthy and live longer than pessimists! In fact, medical studies have proved it!

If you're still not sure whether you're a positive thinker or a negative thinker, try looking back over the last year - ask yourself what you remember. You'll probably have a mixture of good and bad memories. The key here is to establish which ones are taking precedence. Where does your focus tend to be? If you're thinking mainly of good experiences, well done; you're thinking positively. If you're thinking mainly of negatives, you need to start thinking about trying to shift your mindset.

Don't forget though that negative memories have value if you can learn from them. Once that's happened and you've squeezed out everything you can learn from them, you must forget them and move on. Confident people have the self-discipline to do this. They understand the dangers of constantly dwelling on negative experiences. They won't let these negative memories overpower the positives times. In essence, confident people are good at thinking positively all the time. That's why they describe themselves as optimists!

Positive thinking is a state of mind. It's a mental attitude that helps to steer your mind towards thoughts and actions that are conducive to self-belief, self- motivation and confidence. People who demonstrate a strong mental attitude and positive mindset anticipate and look forward to fulfilment and happiness. Their self-belief and positive attitude anticipates and expects success, not failure.

Have a think about people you know who you would describe as positive thinkers - I'll bet you would also describe them as motivated people who have self-belief and self-confidence. That's because the two go together. The majority of confident people think positively.

So, if you're in any doubt about the importance of positive thinking, change your mindset now. You'll find that not alone will you feel more confident if you think positively, you'll also look more positive to others and feel more motivated.
Mike McClement