30-Day Power Posing Challenge
A year ago today I was admitted to legal practice. I was supported by my family, friends and work colleagues at this 'milestone'. The problem was that I did not view my admission as any sort of milestone at all. You see, throughout my life I suffered from something called Imposter Syndrome (I have been told by many my colleagues that they too experience this phenomena). So how does someone who feels like they don't belong get to call themselves a lawyer?
Amy Cuddy delivered an excellent TED talk on Power Posing where she argues that our body language affects who we are. The idea behind this is very similar to goal setting/visualisation of what you want in your life, where an intention is set and what you visualise materialises before you. Except, rather than using the mind, Power Posing starts with our physical bodies, that is, in order to feel powerful, you embody power. Cuddy's research tells us that people who sit upright in meetings come across as more confident than their counterparts who are slouched. This means that rather than thinking that you are confident, you have to embody the confidence. And needless to say, changing our body language is way easier than changing our mindsets. In come Power Poses. Think Wonder Woman, Super Man, poses that take up more room than less, open arms rather than crossed. The posing of our bodies affect how we think and feel within our bodies. Cuddy's advice was to give Power Posing a go (holding a powerful pose for 2 minutes) and see you feel and think about yourself.
It happened to be 'clerkship' season around the corner, and I felt rather incompetent to be going for these jobs. I really needed to boost my own self worth and confidence if I was every going to get through the first stage of the interviews. So I stood in that iconic Wonder Woman pose, channelling her fierceness and strength, for 2 minutes every day for 30 days.
Power posing (you may or may not want to dress up as well)
At first, it felt strange. What if someone walked into my room and saw what I was doing? How would I explain myself. It felt extremely uncomfortable and unnatural to be standing like that. I was not use to taking up so much space with my body. Most interestingly, my mind is having a good laugh at myself. The 2 minute alarm rings and I am relieved for the break to my sometimes intolerably mean consciousness. Day 2 did not feel any different. It was not until Day 7 that I start thinking, "Oh okay, this aint too bad." By Day 20, I felt stronger and a little more confident. I could see that my posture was slightly better and I felt a little more assertive.
A month later, I scored myself a couple of first round interviews. It was the time to test whether Power Posing really worked. Before my first interview, I asked the reception to where the bathroom was. Most people would just go there to do their business, then make sure nothing is in between their teeth before going back to the lobby and sitting anxiously to be called into the interview room. I did something extra that morning: 2 minutes of Power Posing.
Sure enough, during the interview, I felt confident and assertive. I stood my ground when questioned why I wanted to move into the private/corporate legal sector when all my past work experience pointed to a different trajectory. I had a couple of interviews that did flop, of course (I had not read up on the state of the global market at the time and the regulations Australia had. My fault!).
I ended up with a job after these interviews, and I continue to work at this firm now. Thank you Amy Cuddy and Power Poses.
I shared this story with some people. Some of them have likened my experience to that saying, "fake it til you make it". I disagree. I did not feel fake whilst doing the Power Poses. Like most of us, I had my confidence tucked away in the deep dark crevasses of their body. The Power Poses helped me channel this hidden confidence to come up to the surface. It is quite wonderful when it does surface, even that tiny little bit.