Recently I’ve come across the term “life hack” a lot. It
seems like it has gone viral. We love life hacks because they sound like an
easy way to accomplish something that would otherwise be difficult. Whether
it’s on how to keep your stuff organized or how to increase your productivity
with simple changes, we crave these shortcuts (mostly, because we are all naturally lazy and want to live the most awesome lives with minimal effort).
What people often don’t realize is that body language
can provide “life hacks” to improving our mood or changing how we perceive
certain things. Let’s face it, no matter how well things are going, we are
still going to have off days. Unfortunately, we can’t always call in sick and
spend the day in bed until we are ready to face the unjust world again.
Instead, I encourage you to try these next time you are feeling blue:
1.
Smile
– even when you don’t feel like smiling, the muscles involved in making a smile
will trigger happy memories in your brain and your fake smile might actually
make you happier than you expect.
If you don’t believe me, try going to a Laughter Yoga Class.
I went to one in
Toronto and it was incredible. The concept of laughter yoga is to laugh – without anyone
being funny or telling jokes. It takes the smiling motion to the next level,
and you know what? It actually works. We are programmed to think that in order
to laugh we have to be amused. However, laughing without a reason can provide
just as much of a mood booster as listening to a good stand-up comedian.
In the spirit of wedding season and other summer photo
opportunities, here’s a hack on how to fake a genuine smile. Everyone on
Facebook will now believe that you really ARE having a great time on your rainy weekend
camping trip:
(Read more about the power of smiling in one of my previous articles)
2.
Dress Up: It’s been proven that when feeling under the
weather, taking some extra time to put on those fancy shoes or an ironed out
dress shirt will make you feel more confident to face the day. If you have a phone interview, dress up for it anyway.
Your posture, thoughts and tone of voice will be more professional when you are
dressed up than when you are taking the call in your pyjamas on the couch.
Think Lady Gaga. How much of her persona
is defined by her outfits?
3.
Right-hand,
left-hand: A university study has revealed that a right-handed person
perceives things on their right-hand side more positively than those on their
left. If you are interviewing for a job, being on the more dominant side of the
interviewer can potentially help you leave a better impression. The good-news
is that this preference is not fixed. If you are right-handed and perform a few
everyday tasks with your non-dominant side, your perception of the world will
become more favourable on the side that performed the tasks. Mind-blowing
finding? I thought so.
You see, sometimes all it takes is a fake laugh or a peek
through the window with a different side to feel a little better. May you
always have the energy to turn things around J
Happy D-coding,
Darya
Sources:
“Insights: Right-Hand Man”. Psychology Today. Aug 2012. 16. Print.
