One of the lessons I learned from my teacher in martial arts many years ago (let’s skip how many years ago that was to preserve my dignity and youthful image) is that your inside reflects on your outside and your outside reflects on your inside.

The important point here is that it goes both ways.

Your mind reflects on your body. Your body reflects on your mind.

When you have a great day and feel positive and strong it will show in how you stand, walk and smile. If you have a sluggish day, are frustrated or devoid of motivation, people will be able to tell and will react to you accordingly.

However, how you present yourself and how you hold your body and posture also directly and immediately impacts how you feel. Stand upright and you will feel more confident. Smile and you will feel more positive. Straighten your spine, pull your shoulder blades back and open your chest and you will feel ready and open for the challenges of the day.

The beauty is that it is very easy to control our body and posture. Everyone can smile. Everyone can straighten their posture up. It’s much easier and directly controllable than telling yourself ‘to be happy’ or to ‘feel positive’. The end result is the same and the effect is immediate.

If you don’t trust my martial arts teacher, you can also check in with Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy and her famous TED Talk or book (Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges, Amy Cuddy). I like the science behind it, but at the same time I’m always fascinated how those old martial arts guys knew all those answers all along and way before modern science rediscovered them…