Be ready for anything in two minutes
Ever felt like you’re really just “not feeling it”? You’ve got a presentation to give, a sales call or project to get to get through. Here's how to change your state of mind in just 2 minutes.
How to feel ready for anything in just two minutes, bringing your “hero state”
Ever felt like you’re really just “not feeling it”? You’ve got a presentation to give, a difficult call or a project to get through, but you’re struggling to feel focussed and ready? What if you could use a proven technique that can make you feel ready for anything in 2 minutes - Would that be useful to you?
In Amy Cuddy's book "Presence" she describes how our body language can change our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Specifically, drawing on research from various experiments carried out on unsuspecting test subjects she was able to demonstrate that anyone can increase their confidence and power by adopting certain body language positions, even if they don't feel confident at the time.
Cuddy provides scientific evidence to support her claims, and she shares stories from her own life and the lives of others who have benefited from using her techniques.
So how can you use the lessons that she has learned? Here are steps you can take right now to put yourself in a more prepared state:
Set a timer for two minutes
(this is of course optional - you might not always be able to do this!)
Stand up.
If you’re not able to stand, because of a disability or medical condition Cuddy was able to replicate similar results from people who imagined themselves standing in the way suggested in step
Choose one of the following two poses;
Feet apart, stand tall, hands in the air (as if you’ve just won a 100 metre race); or
As above but with your hands on your hips, elbows out
4. Hold that stance for two minutes.
As you do this you should find that your level of testosterone increases (causing increased alertness) and level of cortisol decreases (reducing stress). This action by itself puts you in a state that is alert but relaxed and has the effect of making you feel and behave in a way that is more confident and powerful (you don’t have to believe in this for it to work, as experiments on researchers confirmed).
5. What else?
You don’t need to do anything else but - as you’re holding that stance anyway…Tony Robbins would suggest two other areas that you might look at - being
What you focus on and.
The language that you use
(he refers to the above three elements - focus, language and physiology as the “triad”).
In terms of your focus - focus on the result that you are looking to achieve. What do you want? What’s important right now?
In terms of your language - take a moment to check how you’re describing the situation to yourself. (Using positive language in your own mind can affect how you visualise the situation. Are you really “nervous” or “excited”? Climbing a “mountain” or taking “the first few steps”? The language we use can make a situation seem scarier or more dangerous than positive language
7. Two minutes up yet? By now you may have noticed a physical change and by focussing on the end result with positive language, a clearer mind and change in focus as well.
8. You’re now ready for the task in hand - but just before you start here’s one extra thing - give this state a name. This might be your “hero state” or your “ready state” - the goal is to have a quick shortcut that you remember and can recall at will.
8. Now that you have a name for this state (posture, focus and language)- practice recalling it at times when you start a new task. You want to get into the habit of bringing this “hero state” so that you can quickly find it when you next need it (ahead of that next speech, project or call)
This exercise can save a huge amount of time and stress - why not give it a try for your next project?
