BY MISS DANI
LEARNED FROM JIM KWIK
HI Everyone! It’s a pleasure to be back at the writing board as one of my actual dreams is to one day write a book. So of course writing these blogs to our EnglishSmart community helps me to “get my feet wet.” I was “racking my brain”, thinking; what should I write about to almost close up the year. As I recently participated in a course given by one of my favorite 2021 authors; Jim Kwik, called “Kwik Confidence,” I decided why not share some of the amazing tools he shared with us in this course. As Jim mentions in his book “Limitless;” One of the greatest ways to remember things is by teaching others. So if you haven’t read this book yet, I would definitely encourage you to put it on your 2022 Book List. Moreover, if you have never created a book list, what a great time to start! As they say: “there’s no time like the present.”
On to the learning; Jim teaches in this course and many of his videos that LIFE is C. What does that mean? He says that life is C, which is between B & D. B=Birth, D=Death, C=Choice and as C comes between the letters B & D, life is about CHOICE. We can choose our thoughts, our actions, reactions, responses, etc… However, I do believe that in order to be able to choose we also need to be conscious, which may take some time and lots and lots of practice.
So here are 10 Brain Hacks that Jim taught us in this course in order to boost our confidence.
- Super Power Pose: studies show that by standing in a super power pose we can actually reduce anxiety and fear and increase courage.
- Listen to Music: this works amazingly well for me and I have actually been integrating this activity into my daily routine, especially on the days when you are feeling “a little blue.”
- Clothing: “Dress for Success”, so there is some evidence that if we dress the part we are going to feel more confident and we may be able to make a better impression too. You look good, so you feel good.
- Scents: Oils, candles, perfumes, and even gum, use some of these smells to help stimulate the brain by using the same scents when getting ready for something like an exam or a presentation and then use that same smell on the “big day.”
- High Five Yourself in the mirror: High fives or fist punches which are more popular in Mexico are shown to increase a person’s confidence level. So try high fiving yourself in the mirror the next time after a great workout, before an important exam or presentation, or hey why not daily just to congratulate yourself on who you are just for today.
- A Charm: Do you have anything that is special to you or you feel brings you luck? These items may bring about more self confidence when the time comes.
- Ritual: Have a routine or habit for important moments in your life. It could simply be an intention or affirmation set up in your brain in advance, such as: “I am brave.” “I am confident.”. “I am creative.” You could even connect some of the previous hacks to create this ritual in important and defining moments.
- Mental Rehearsal: This one is so interesting! So he explains about a study that was done in order to help basketball players improve their free throw shooting. There were 3 groups. Group A was to practice one hour daily on the courts. Group B was to do nothing. Group C was to practice one hour daily, but in their minds. At the end of the study the results were astonishing; Group A improved by 24%, Group B didn’t improve at all, Group C improved by 23%. Just imagine what you can do with your mind! Great quote here: “What your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
- Power of Self Talk: Our brains are supercomputers. What thoughts are you sharing with yourself? “You got this!” “You can do this!” “I am confident.”
- Emulate: Is to imitate. He suggests asking ourselves; Who do I need to be in this scenario? Who is someone you “look up to?” Think about that person and ask; “What would they do and how would they act?”
Well, dear all, that’s it for this writing session. I hope that you “try out” at least two of the tips from this list to help boost your confidence levels. I would also like to challenge our students to look at all the expressions in “quotes” and see if you know their meanings.
Wishing you all continued learning, self love, motivation and reflection!