Good posture

Posture ˈpɒstʃə/ noun. A position in which someone stands. A particular approach or attitude.

I like the dual meaning of posture. Lots of visual metaphors to describe our attitudes and approach in physical ways I can identify with. We can immediately define some elements of attitude as soon as we see the way in which someone stands. We call it body language.

But, body language doesn’t just send a message to other people. The position in which you stand speaks language to your own body too.

Slouch, cross your arms, look down at your shoes and twist your face into an angry scowl – now try and think creatively.

Stretch out your arms, lift your head to the ceiling with a smile on your face and take a deep breath – now try and feel anger.

Sure it’s not impossible to force it,  but posture (position) affects your posture (attitude).

How do you get poor posture?

Ideal physical posture is the correct alignment of the body in relation to the activity being performed. So, ideal attitude is the correct alignment of your approach in relation to the activity being performed.

Posture gets out of whack when we form bad habits and we can only correct it by intentional correction to form new habits. Essentially, over time and completely without realising it we get out of whack.

How do you fix your posture?

Body posture is corrected through repeated exercises, stretching specific areas of your body and holding in position to form new habits. So, to keep the metaphors coming, attitude posture needs some intentional repeated exercises to form new habits.

You will also need a mirror, ideally. So what does the ‘mirror’ look like for your attitude posture? Meditation or (conveniently named) reflection time where you assess your emotions, thoughts and actions from the day. You will need to investigate your thoughts.

Consider, you stand in front of the mirror and see your shoulders hunched forward. You first visualise what the correct posture should look like, then you move your body into the position you want it to be.

You have free choice

Choice – To change your physical alignment and your approach to life. If you see the reflection in the mirror and just accept it as fixed, then life happens to you and you are a victim without the ability to think a new thought and change the reflection. Imagine if you stood in front of a TV instead of a mirror, and the image on the screen was you but you didn’t have any control over what the image displayed. This is how we sometimes operate in our attitude posture. Like feelings and emotions are facts we can’t affect.

Thoughts create the future. Everything that you ever did started as an idea; a thought.

Get your posture right. Pull your shoulders back, head up and stretch your body. Consistently.

Get your posture right. Pull your thoughts and emotions under investigation, dream up a future your passionate about and stretch yourself beyond your fears to live a remarkable life. Consistently.