55 Quotes by Amy Cuddy

Power is generally defined as control over resources and control over access to resources, which often means control over other people because we’re thinking about things like financial resources or shelter, or even love and affection, but we also possess resources that we sometimes can’t access.

Everyone is walking around with these self doubts, so there’s something reassuring about that. And self-doubt in one or a few areas doesn’t mean that you have generally low self-esteem. And you have the power to get yourself out of feeling that way.

My primary goal is really to get people to open up and when they feel themselves contracting and collapsing to reduce that, and to know when that happens, “Oh, something’s going on that’s making me feel this way, and if I force my body open a bit, I will feel less powerless.”

The mind shapes the body, and the body shapes the mind.

Although our body language governs the way other people perceive us, our body language also governs how we perceive ourselves and how those perceptions become reinforced through our own behavior, our interactions, and even our physiology.

What I most want you to understand is that your body is continuously and convincingly sending messages to your brain, and you get to control the content of those messages.

People judge you really quickly, at first just on your facial features. There are two dimensions - warmth and competence. You can think of them as trustworthiness and strength. They're first judging you on warmth; evaluating whether or not you are trustworthy. That's much more important to them than whether or not you're competent.

Practice smiling by holding a pencil between your teeth for twenty minutes.

Technology is transforming how we hold ourselves, contorting our bodies into what the New Zealand physiotherapist Steve August calls the 'iHunch.' I've also heard people call it 'text neck,' and in my work, I sometimes refer to it as 'iPosture.'