Stand Tall
Painting By Robb Wolff September 28, 2015
When I was a young teenager my mother was always ragging on me to stand tall and put my shoulders back. She was concerned that my slumping posture would become permanent. She was mostly right. Today I realize that it is not just about posture.
Each of us has a built-in counter that measures where we stand in our relationships with others. How we “stand” is an outward manifestation of those relationships. Do you stand tall or slump?
Think of a time when you were surprised by a loud bang. Did you duck? In a fight, the loser ducks and covers their head. Less dominant people tend to slump (duck) like they are expecting something bad to happen. More dominant people stand tall with their shoulders back.
Just after returning from my mission I was called as a Seventy. Our quorum teacher was a native man named Wally Woods. His lessons were filled with stories of his native upbringing on the West coast of Northern British Columbia. Wally became an orphan at an early age and was raised by the elders of his community.
Near where he lived dense fog from the ocean would freeze on the forest trees. When he played and later when he hunted in the forest ice from the trees would often come crashing down. His response was to duck and cover his head which made him a bigger target for the sharp shards of ice. The tribal elders gave him an old hard hat and some football shoulder pads to wear when he was hunting in the woods. They taught him that when he heard the ice falling he should stand tall with his shoulders back and the ice would harmlessly bounce off his protective armor.
When I feel positive and confident I stand taller. When I feel beat up and dejected I slump, like I am expecting something bad to happen. Now here is the important point, and I am sure this will work for you. When I stand tall with my shoulders back my attitude almost instantly improves. I feel better about life. I become more positive and confident. I believe others perceive me as a leader and a winner when I stand tall with my shoulders back. Which means more opportunities come my way. Which means I become more positive and confident, beautiful people are attracted to me and so on … This is what I’m talkin ‘bout.. A couple of cute girls from California showed up unexpectedly at my house one day.
Here is a photo of my mom standing tall with her shoulders back. I am guessing she is in her late teens in this photo.
This is a photo of my father standing tall at boot camp training in Camrose. He signed up to fight in the 2nd world war but was ultimately rejected because of a bad knee and bad feet; which were the result of jumping off a building. (Watch for the letter titled “The First Right Answer”) As you can see, my father wasn’t very tall but he was a leader. He stood tall with his shoulders back.
Challenge:
Stand tall with your shoulders back when you’re with your friends and see if they treat you differently. Do you feel more confident when you meet new people? Do you feel happier and more positive when you stand tall with your shoulders back?
October 4, 2024
Google recently introduced a new LLM machine-learning model that creates podcasts from text. I input this article into the model. This is what it came up with.