The title of this post should actually be: 3 weeks of Projecting Confidence in Everything. This is due to the fact that I am starting the challenge almost a week into this month, which began on Monday. I had full intentions of writing and posting this last Sunday, but I slipped up in applying the harm reduction strategy for my addiction. More on that in next week’s post.

What this month will entail:

• Stand with shoulders back and chest puffed out. I feel like I am channeling serious Jordan Peterson vibes with this one, but screw it. Perfect posture, for me, can be extremely difficult. This is because standing up straight can sometimes exacerbate my chronic back pain. Often, I allow my back to roll into whatever position minimizes discomfort. The focus with this one is not holding some rigid posture, but to move into this frequently throughout the day. Also, if discomfort arises, default to physical conditioning instead of slouching.
• Default to smiling though don’t require it. I will do a formal evaluation of last month’s challenge later this month. However, one thing I noticed is that when I smiled, my confidence level generally increased, if only slightly. I am not on that challenge anymore, but want to mostly continue the intention of it.
• Never slink. I avoid conflict to a fault. This extends to a lot of social scenarios where instead of asking or telling someone to get me something or move out of the way, I take the path of least resistance and slink around them. No more!
• Walk purposefully on the right side of hallways. This comes from the army and is quite effective. Always choose to walk distinctly on the right side of any hallway and expect the same from everyone else (same as driving a car). In this case, I should always “play chicken” since I am on the right (literally!) and there exists no physical danger.
• Never be the first to break eye contact. Or at least not until I have held it for 5 seconds. As someone that has been socially awkward ever since I can remember, eye contact protocol has always felt like a foreign language to me. I manage it fairly effectively I think when giving public speeches, but am horrible at interpersonal interactions.
• When standing, have feet be touching or at least very close together. First off, this adds slightly to my height, which never hurts. Also, the closer together my feet are, the more my lower back feels engaged which helps with the achy pain I experience there. I don’t care much for maximum stability, as I don’t like to remain in one place for long anyway!
• When sitting, don’t cross legs. Or ankles for that matter. A big part of projecting confidence starts with an open body posture. This means never crossing arms or legs. I already have worked on maintaining a more open upper body.
• Throw open doors whenever possible. Obviously, discretion should be applied here. In any case, I want to exhibit more assertiveness any time I enter a room, door or no door. This helps set a confident tone for everything I do in that environment.

I did a related challenge to this one several years ago, involving intentional decisiveness. This month, I am focused more on the physical manifestations of confidence, and projecting strength even if I feel conflicted or unsure. Wish me luck!

Namaste.