Presence – A Book Review
I want to share with you Amy Cuddy’s book, Presence. It seems that most people saw her 2012 TedTalk –Your body language may shape who you are, before reading her book 2015 book Presence. I’m not sure how I got turned on to this book, but I am glad I did. I really enjoyed not only the science and research that they did to get to their findings but the personal stories of those that have taken her work to heart.
Why is presence so important? We have one great life, do we really want to be asleep through it, or do we want to be present? That is why I picked up this book and I’m glad I did. It not only talked about presence, and our personal power, but feeling like an imposter, which I think most of us have felt not cut out for the task at hand. If there is anything that 2020 and 2021 have taught us, it’s that we need to be resilient and we need to be present or we’ll wake up in 2023 and wonder where did another year go.
My favorite things I have taken from the book:
1 – Power makes up approach. Powerlessness makes us avoid. When we feel powerless, we cannot be present…presence is power.
2 – Fake it until you Become it!
3 – You are meant to be here!
In Amy Cuddy’s book, they found that sometimes the simplest of things can make a huge impact. Enter stage left – The Wonder Woman!
Amy’s studies found that standing with your hands on your hips, your chin held high, and your chest out (like Wonder Woman) for two minutes a day, can help to increase the hormones that help you feel more confident and in control. You could also Starfish Up! Which is the same pose, but with your hands above your head. I love this research. It can benefit everyone and takes away from no one! I have started to include this in my daily routine. Silly, though I may feel for a bit…but the science is in, it works.
For a readers digest version of the book, you can watch her Ted Talk here.
Enjoy!