10 Clever Tricks to Trigger Positive

Emotions
The as if principle says if we act like were happy and confident, we
can become more happy and confident. Try these positive-action
exercises to lift your moodand boost your confidence and increase
your willpower and deepen your relationships and...
Richard Wiseman
492 29 10 679

People who see the glass half-full are certainly happier than the
pessimists of the world, and learning to think positively is
worthwhile. However, changing the way you think can be
surprisingly tricky, especially when the going gets tough. What if
there were a waya shortcut or hackthat positively affected
how you feel when you just cant seem to shake the blues?
A few years ago, I came across a simple idea that has been
validated in hundreds of experiments and has given rise to quick
and effective exercises that can help you feel happier, avoid
anxiety, increase your willpower, deepen relationships and boost
confidence. Perhaps most surprising of all, it does not involve
trying to change how you think.
The idea dates back to the turn of the 20th century and to the
work of Victorian philosopher William James. Working at Harvard
University, James proposed a radical new theory about the link
between thinking and behavior. According to conventional
wisdom, your thoughts and feelings cause you to behave in
certain ways. Feeling happy makes you smile, and feeling sad
makes you frown. James wondered whether the exact opposite
might also be true, namely that the way you behave can change
how you feel.
According to Jamess theory, forcing your face into a smile
should make you feel happy, and frowning should make you feel
sad. James realized that if his theory were true, people should be
able to create any feeling they desired simply by acting as if
they were experiencing that emotion. Although the potential

power of his idea clearly energized James (he often referred to it

as bottled lightning), it was years ahead of its time and
received scant attention from his fellow academics.
In the late 1960s, psychologist James Laird from the University
of Rochester stumbled across Jamess theory and decided to test
it. Laird knew that he couldnt simply ask people to smile and
then report how they felt, because they might guess what the
experiment was about and play along.
To overcome the problem, Laird advertised for volunteers to take
part in a study on the electrical activity of facial muscles. When
the volunteers arrived at the laboratory, Laird placed electrodes
between their eyebrows and at the corners of their mouths. The
electrodes were fake, but the clever cover story enabled Laird to
discreetly manipulate his volunteers faces into a smile or frown.
To create a frown, the volunteers were asked to pull together the
two electrodes between their eyebrows. For the happy
expression, they were asked to draw back the electrodes at the
corners of their mouths. After they had contorted their faces into
the required positions, participants were asked how they felt.
The results were remarkable. Exactly as predicted by James, the
volunteers felt happier when they forced their faces into smiles
and sadder when they were frowning.
Curious about this remarkable finding, other scientists started to
carry out their own versions of Lairds groundbreaking
experiment. Rather than repeatedly placing fake electrodes on
peoples faces, each laboratory produced its own version of the
study.
Inspired by photographers who encourage people to smile by
getting them to say, Cheese, University of Michigan
researchers asked volunteers repeatedly to make an ee sound
(as in easy) to force their faces into smiles, or an eu sound (as
in yule) to produce expressions nearer to disgust. Similarly,
researchers in Germany were investigating how to teach people

who were paralyzed below the neck to write, and asked

volunteers either to support pencils horizontally between their
teeth (thus forcing their faces into a smile) or hold pencils
between their lips (thus pulling their faces into a frown).
Time and again, the results revealed that Jamess theory was
correct, with volunteers who repeatedly chanted ee or
supported pencils between their teeth suddenly feeling much
happier. In short, behaving as if you were experiencing a
certain emotion triggers that same emotion.
Other researchers have set out to discover whether the as if
principle also worked in other areas of everyday life. Results
have shown that very small changes in your actions can have a
fast and long-lasting effect on your happiness, motivation,
willpower, creativity and personality. So why not adopt more
positive actions in your life?
Here are 10 positive-action exercises to try:

1. Feeling Happy
There is more to lifting your mood than forcing your face into a
brief, unfelt smile that finishes in the blink of an eye. Instead:
Relax the muscles in your forehead and cheeks, and let your
mouth drop slightly open.
Contract the muscles near the corners of your mouth, drawing
them back toward your ears. Make the smile as wide as possible
and extend your eyebrow muscles slightly upward. Hold the
resulting expression for about 20 seconds.
Try to incorporate this mood-brightening exercise into your daily
routine by, for example, smiling just before you answer the
telephone or setting a reminder on your computer.

2. Moving On
Struggling to get over an upsetting choice you had to make?
Researcher Xiuping Li from the National University of Singapore
Business School asked each participant in a study to write down
a recent decision he or she regretted. Li then asked some of the

participants to seal their regrets in an envelope. Those who did

so then reported feeling significantly better about their past
decisions. Although they were just acting on a physically
symbolic closure, their actions helped them reach psychological
closure.
Next time you want some help getting over the loss of a client or
a bad business decision, write a brief description of what
happened on a piece of paper, put the paper in an envelope,
and kiss the past goodbye. And if you really want to have fun,
reach for the matches and convert your envelope into a pile of
ashes.

3. The Power of Secrets

The more couples get to know one another, the more they
disclose personal information. Psychologist Arthur Aron with the
State University of New York at Stony Brook wondered whether
asking two people to disclose personal information (and so
acting as if they were more intimate) would make them feel
especially close. Aron paired strangers, gave them a set of 36
questions that allowed them to open up about increasingly
private aspects of their lives and then had them rate how they
felt about each other. As predicted, the questions promoted a
sense of intimacy and attraction. When using this technique
todeepen your relationship with a colleague, family member or
friend, take things one step at a time and make sure youre both
comfortable with the conversation.
Here are 10 sample questions from Arons experiment:
Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you
want as a dinner guest?
Would you like to be famous? In what way?
Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what
you are going to say? Why?
What would constitute a perfect day for you?
When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

 If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the
mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life,
which would you want?
What is your most treasured memory?
What is your most terrible memory?
For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
If you could change anything about the way you were raised,
what would it be?

4. Pull MePush You

If you are dieting, try behaving as if you dont like unhealthy
food. Research shows that pushing an object away from you
(and so behaving as if you didnt like it) makes you dislike the
object. Whereas, pulling it toward you (behaving as if you liked
it) makes you feel far more positively about it. Next time you are
confronted with a plate of sugary or fried snacks, simply push
the plate away from you and feel the temptation fade.
Conversely, if you are in sales and want to make prospective
clients feel more positive about a product, try placing it on a
table in front of them and encouraging them to slide it closer.

5. Muscle Magic
People who are highly motivated often tense their muscles as
they prepare to spring into action. But research from Iris Hung,
an associate professor of marketing at the National University of
Singapore, has shown that the opposite is also trueyou
can boost your willpower simply by tensing your muscles. Next
time you feel your willpower draining away, try, for example,
making a fist, contracting your biceps, pressing your thumb and
first finger together, or gripping a pen in your hand.
Similarly, if you want to persevere with something, try crossing
your arms. Ron Friedman, social psychologist and founder of
ignite80, asked people to tackle difficult anagrams with their
arms either crossed or resting on their thighs. By folding their
arms, people were acting as if they were persistent, and they

continued trying to solve the puzzle for nearly twice as long as

those with their hands on their thighs.

6. Breaking Habits
You can help crack unwanted habits by behaving as if you are
someone who never gets stuck in a routine. Psychologists Ben
Fletcher and Karen Pine from the University of Hertfordshire in
the U.K. carried out research in which people trying to lose
weight were asked to adopt a more flexible approach to life (by,
for example, being asked to stop watching television for a day or
traveling to work using different routes). These small changes
helped people break their bad patterns. Try to undo unwanted
habits by behaving as if you are a flexible person and carrying
out one of the following every few days:
Try an unusual form of food.
Visit a new art gallery or museum.
Go to a shop that you have never visited before.
Make time to see a film that you dont think you will enjoy.

7. How to Negotiate
The chairs that you sit in affect your behavior, which in turn
affects how you think. In a study by Joshua Ackerman, an
assistant professor of marketing at the MIT Sloan School of
Management, volunteers sat on either hard chairs or softcushioned chairs while paired with strangers to role-play the
negotiation of selling a new car. Those in the hard chairs sat
rigidly, while those sitting in the soft chairs felt comfortable
and sure enough, their behavior was significantly different.
Those in the hard chairs were more inflexible in their
negotiations and demanded a higher price for the car.
Hard furniture creates hard behavior, which underlines the
importance of having soft furnishings in your home and office
(except for when you need to be the bad cop).

8. The Power of Warm

From an early age, we associate the feeling of warmth with

safety and security (think hugs and open fires), and coldness
with unfriendliness (think getting the cold shoulder and icy
stare). The as if principle predicts that warming people up
should make them feel far more friendly. Research conducted by
University of Colorado psychologist Lawrence Williams suggests
that this is indeed the case. Williams handed volunteers either a
hot cup of coffee or a cold drink, asked them to read a short
description of a stranger, and then asked them to rate the
strangers personality. The volunteers who had been warmed up
by the coffee thought that the stranger seemed much friendlier
than those who had been clutching iced drinks.
If you are trying to befriend someone, skip the frozen cocktails in
an air-conditioned bar and instead opt for a steaming mug of tea
in front of a roaring fire.

9. All Together Now

Want to get a group to bond together quickly and believe in a
single cause? Get them to act in unison. Assistant professor
Scott Wiltermuth from the University of Southern California
gathered groups of three volunteers. Some of the groups were
asked to walk around the university campus normally, while
others were formed into a small army and asked to march
around the same route in step. In another part of the study,
groups were asked to listen to a national anthem, and others
were asked to sing along and move in time to the music. The
people in each of the groups were then asked to play a board
game in which they could choose to help or hinder one another.
Those who had been walking in sync and singing in unison
quickly bonded, and they were significantly more likely to help
one another during the game.
People who have bonded together often act in unison. Similarly,
acting in unison helps people bond together.

10. Power Posing

A study done at Columbia University discovered that when

people are put into power poses, they feel more confident,
have higher levels of testosterone (a chemical associated with
dominance) and lower levels of cortisol (a chemical associated
with stress).
So if you are sitting down, lean back, look up and interlock your
fingers behind your head. If you are standing up, then place your
feet flat on the floor and push your shoulders back and your
chest forward.
Or, if you havent got time to strike a powerful pose, just make a
fist. Psychologist Thomas Schubert from the University of Oslo
asked a group of men to rate how confident they felt, then to
form their hand into a fist for a few seconds, and then to re-rate
their confidence. The volunteers bodies influenced their brains,
with the men enjoying a significant boost in confidence because
they had spent a few moments forming a fist.
Still can't shake the blues? Try a different approach and
follow 10 stepsan easy acronym, GREAT DREAMto
sprinkle a little more happy into your life.

13 Ways to Take Care of Yourself

Every Day
Dont get stuck in an unhealthy daily grind. Heres how to work me
time into your busy schedule.
YEC
93.2K 472 127 94.1K

Its 7:30 a.m. and your alarm is blaring. Squinty-eyed, you reach
for your phone, fumbling to swipe that horrible noise off, sinking
back into the mattress, your eyes fading to black again until
you shoot straight up, eyes wide open, realizing youve already
pushed snooze three times. Youre late. So you bolt out from
under the covers and, like a blur, get dressed and go to work.

Youre at the office (finally), and a million emails have rudely

generated in your inbox, so you start shooting off responses,
only to reply to the ones that come back seconds later. You only
get up when nature calls and your stomach yells for food.
Another blur and its already dark. Time to climb back under the
covers
Sleep, wake up, work. And repeat. Thats a daily grind that will
have you burning out the next time your alarm goes off. Theres
more to life than work. How can you make sure youre getting a
healthy dose of me time?
We asked the Young Entrepreneur Council, What is one thing
you can do every day to take care of yourself, before your
work? to find out.
1. Set specific time slots when you dont work.
Focusing on work is a great excuse for not taking care of
yourself. I have set specific time slots where I wont work and
will instead spend time on my family and me. These slots are
first thing in the morning (before 8 a.m.) and dinnertime (5 to 8
p.m.). Except for events I must attend, these slots are sacred
times for me to spend with my family and not work. Setting this
up has been life-changing.
Joshua Dorkin, BiggerPockets
2. Start your day off with meditation.
I start every morning with a short 510-minute meditation using
an app called Beditations. The meditation helps me visualize the
things Im most grateful for and allows me to minimize
negativity and distractions. I find that early morning meditation
increases my self-awareness and helps me put into perspective
what really matters. I also tend to be much more positive,
energetic and happy.
Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com
3. Work out.

I get up early most mornings and head to a free, outside workout

called F3. Aside from obvious health benefits, it clears my mind
and gets me in touch with the outdoors and in the company of
good friends to start the day.
John Dillard, Big Sky Associates, Inc.
4. Get enough ZZZs.
The scientific benefits of sleep are innumerable. More
sleep equates to more happiness, better health and improved
decision-making. Not to mention that it detoxes the brain. In
order to do your best work, its critical to consistently recharge
your batteries.
Ryan Stephens, Ryan Stephens Marketing
5. Write a poem.
It sounds silly, random even, but this is something Ive done
every day that has dramatically reduced my stress while
simultaneously opening my mind to many details in the world
and opportunities that I would not have otherwise noticed. Start
your day by writing a poemeven something as simple as a
haiku.
Matthew Manos, verynice
6. Keep a journal.
Life is very busy. My journal is in bullet-form so I can jot down
things I did, people I met, how I felt, etc. Its been a great outlet
to help me be present, remember the little moments and sort
out challenges in both my personal and professional life.
Kate Levenstien, Cannonball Productions
7. Talk to friends and family.
Your friends and family are your biggest supporters. Even if you
are having a very stressful and busy day, pick up the phone for a
few minutes just to say hi to Mom or your best friend, and just
talk about the good things that are happening in their lives. It
will keep you grounded.
Faraz Khan, Go Direct Lead Generation

8. Wake up slowly.
Its not unusual for me to answer 10 to 15 emails before even
getting out of bed in the morning. Butstarting the day off like
this often sets a negative tone for the day, and truthfully most
issues can wait. Im learning that Im much happier when I take
30 to 45 minutes to wake up slowly and shower before checking
email.
Jesse Lear, V.I.P. Waste Services, LLC
9. Read something fictional.
Refresh your mind by taking an afternoon break from your
workflow and escaping to another world. Reading fictional
stories stimulates the right side of your brain, sparking creative
thought. That stimulation can make your day go a little
smoother by thinking differently, solving problems in abstract
ways and, most importantly, rejuvenating your soul.
Mark Krassner, Knee Walker Central
10. Do yoga.
I have always been a very active person. I played water polo,
swam, surfed, tried every sport out there. But in the last few
years I started doing yoga a few days a week and it has changed
my life. Its the only place my phone is completely off and my
mind is focused on myself onlyno clients, employees or
projects. Its the easiest way to reset your mind and body in 60
minutes.
Torrey Tayenaka, Sparkhouse
11. Listen to a podcast.
I find that one of the best practices to get fresh air and stimulate
my brain is simply to take a walk andlisten to a podcast with the
podcast app that now comes standard on the iPhone. Do
yourself a favor and listen to something non-business-related.
For a little health or mindfulness, my favorites are Bulletproof
Radio and Buddhist Geeks.
Matt Wilson, Under30Experiences

12. Put yourself on your schedule.

When you put yourself on your schedule, you wont have
meetings and appointments that prevent you from taking care of
yourself. I prefer to put myself as my first appointment of the
day to make sure I dont get caught up in the day and decide to
skip out on important things that keep me grounded, like
exercise and meditation.
Natalie MacNeil, She Takes on the World
13. Make time for play.
Before becoming a father, I would have given an answer like
many others: workout, meditate, yoga, etc. These are all
exceptional ways to nurture yourself. After becoming a father,
the greatest joy I can experience is playing with my children. Its
like taking that deep refreshing breath of sea air after a hard
workout, but better.
Derek Fitzpatrick, Ios Optics
Stressed? Check out 5 simple ways to prevent burnout.
Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization
comprising the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. In
partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a
free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of
entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

5 Traits of Emotionally Wealthy

People
Are you chasing after the right kind of wealth?
Rhett Power
7771 59 19 7878

Which would you rather befinancially wealthy

or emotionally wealthy?
You might not realize it, but having mental strengthor an acute
awareness of the power behind your emotions and how best to

use them and act on themis much more worthwhile than

having a cushy bank account.
Don't believe it? Here are five characteristics of emotionally
wealthy people that might just make you re-evaluate your idea
of the good life:
1. They are positive.
To be wealthy in something, whatever surrounds it has to be
healthy first. Just as someone might have healthy investments
that are growing as a healthy living thing should, so should you
be nourishing your emotional self.
What does this really mean? Are you feeding yourself with
positive things, focusing on the good thoughts that lead to
growth? Or are you focusing on the negatives and anxieties of
life that give no emotional nutrition and can hinder growth?
Its been said a joyful heart is good medicine. In what areas do
you need to medicate your emotional self?
2. They are investors.
Looking for that ever-elusive dollar tree you can plant? Bad
news, it doesn't exist. But emotionally prosperous people can
help grow their own wealth. How? By being willing to invest in
other people's emotional growth funds.
By intentionally planting and investing your own emotional
wealth in others and trying to grow it, youll also grow, seeing
the fruit of your investment. More people than you know
would benefit by a little purposeful investment by you.
3. They are risk takers.
The people who have successful careers or thriving
relationships didnt get there by playing it safethey knew they
had to take risks. Emotional wealth is no different. Emotionally
wealthy people invest and give their wealth to others, and
realizing the liability involved, they never give so much away
that if they were to lose it, theyd become unhealthy
themselves.

The key is not giving away more than you can handle losing and,
before giving it, accepting the fact that it might never come
back to you. But its not all scary, because the upside to a little
risk is a great rewardlike a booming business or a happilyever-after marriage. How can you take a calculated emotional
risk today?
4. They are secure.
Robbing a bank isnt easy in real life like it is in the movies, and
there's good reason for that. If it was easy to steal money from
peoples accounts, why would anyone keep it there in the first
place?
The same is true for your emotional wealthonly people you
want taking your emotional goods should be able to withdraw
them. And people you dont? They should quickly see you're
secure enough that they cant get anywhere near the valuables.
While you might be investing and taking risks in some people,
only a few trusted individuals need to have your pin number.
This isn't to say you should lock people out or never give out
small loans, but that you limit who gets full access to your
emotional account. Who should you relegate to restricted
access?
5. They are givers.
Giving might seem similar to investing, but they are actually
quite different. When you invest, you expect something in
return, like to form a friendship. But when you give, you should
expect nothing in returnto give for the sole reason that it feels
good to do good.
Like the old proverb says, "It is better to give than receive," the
same is true with emotional wealth. When you can give love,
grace, mercy or patience to someone with no thought of return,
it's 1) very safe for you and 2) can return your personal
investment in your own emotional wealth better than any
interest rate. You might feel like youve really given nothing, but

youll gain much more than you gave if you do it for the right
reasons.
Now, are you ready to fill up your emotional bank?
Check out 10 clever tricks to trigger positive emotions
and boost your confidence and increase your willpower
and deepen your relationships and....