Mindful Passion, Poise and Posture
On becoming a Peak Human Being
I’m curious about the human aura — something not measured by followers or level of income :)
“What is it about this person?” is a thought which often flashes through my mind when I see or meet people who seem in the present, self-aware, engaging and alive.
I don’t mean celebrities or sports stars, but people from all walks of life and all “levels” of status — from online profile shots to someone sitting in a coffee shot.
Recently, “passion”, “poise”, and “posture” popped into my mind.
These words surprised me
This “mind-flash” took me by surprise in a number of ways:
- Firstly, because poise and posture are both words which used relatively infrequently — they are not common words. Yet each carries great weight in my minimalist set of attributes. How did they just pop-up when I observed a particular person?
- Secondly, I was surprised by the fact that my three words embodied other characteristics which I had tossed about, but which did not satisfy me, for example, “confidence”.Confidence is an obvious ingredient, but it seemed lacking something to me — it was necessary but not sufficient. Similarly for “energy”. “Poise” satisfied me far more than “confidence”, and “passion” far more than “energy”.
- And thirdly, I was surprised that the manifestation of just three words could represent what I had been looking for, what I might call a “peak human being” in a generous sense of the word.
Peak human being
It’s also rather an amazing human feat we can process just three words and “bring to mind” a peak human being — that a mere 3 words can conjure up such an image.
Our “peak human being” is one who exudes passion, a certain poise, and good posture. Someone who has a presence and is in the present.
Why is knowing this helpful?
For me, it’s helpful to know that if I want to “tweak my presence” I can narrow it down to three attributes, and it will make a difference.
I don’t have to search and wonder, I just have to apply a little self-awareness to my state of passion, poise and posture and apply thoughtful adjustments.
This means I can think a lot less about all the dimensions that might create “presence” — and hence use less energy, and be more focused.
I can instead put extra effort into making a conscious adjustment within the scope of passion, poise and posture.
The idea is to conceive of “presence” as simply as possible, but no simpler. I’ve found that helpful.
Are these attributes sufficient?
Could it be that considering just passion, poise and posture as a means to improve your presence is too simple? It could be, however in my experience I have found that they are sufficient.
Passion embodies purpose, and people focus their passion on a goal — a purpose.
We can see and feel the passion but not the purpose. We will also see and feel their energy. Passion embodies energy and energy becomes part of what is directed towards achieving a goal. People express this often when they say “She is passionate about [purpose]”.
Poise embodies confidence.
A confidence person has a certain poise — one which is not arrogant, not overconfident, and in fact, possibly with a touch of self-deprecation or humour. A wry smile or smiling through the eyes. This is a poise which exudes a fit-for-purpose level of confidence.
Posture is the alignment of our body, and good posture is the natural alignment of our body.
This physical alignment reflects not just our physical condition but also our state of mind and self-image. A popular image and portrayal of someone who is confident is that they stand proud and upright.
Likewise, portraying someone who is slouching creates a mental image for us of them being unhappy with themselves of the world.
And of course, there are entire courses on body language — and they focus on how to use posture to create and project a more confident image.
They also focus on how to use posture and proximity and touch to build human connections. I include all this is my use of “posture”.
The people who we observe — who have passion, poise and posture — use their posture dynamically.
They use the right posture at the right time with the right people.
This is why posture is a vital attribute of our “peak human being”.
Our poise plus our posture reveals a lot about us — our personality, character, values and our current state of mind. When poise and posture are combined with passion then I think this does form a complete set of attributes.
I’d call this set of three “necessary and sufficient”.
Could there be another vital attribute?
Yes, of course, there could be more.
I think that the three above are remarkably efficient and effective at describing the components of the human aura.
One more which I would consider is “playful”.
Why “playful”? Because being playful is being human; playfulness proves that you are a real human being and not a cardboard cutout. And it also starts with P.
Knowing this, how can you use it?
Actually, I’m not really sure how you might use it.
For me, I’m not one for circulating affirmations and cluttering my mind, so I just use the idea to do “random checks”.
When the moment pops into my head — seeing someone, or a photo or walking into a coffee shop — I check with myself which of my passion, poise and posture I might be able to tweak at this moment, or today:
- could I show a touch more passion?
- could I hold myself more engagingly?
- could I adjust my poise to show more of my humanity?
If I can find that tweak, then I apply it.
Posture is easiest to perfect
There is however an exception.
For posture, I do specific regular exercises at the gym.
I do weight-bearing exercises, such as the Farmer’s Walk and Overhead Kettlebell Walks. You might choose Pilates instead (good choice!).
Posture does require some physical coordination and development of correct muscle memory. That’s why martial artists always have impressive posture. They train their neural activation and pathways to their muscular system.
I’ve used these thoughts of passion, poise and posture to improve my own sense of presence, and hopefully, you can do the same.
Good luck.
PS If you’re interested in how posture can make you look AND feel more watch Amy’s Cuddy TED video: Your body language shapes who you are (21 minutes). Also, read the comments as some say Cuddy’s whole hypothesis has been irrefutably debunked, but still, you might get a couple of ideas from it without becoming beholden to it. It might be a whole lot more real and authentic just to have your kids do martial arts or something else kinaesthetic than trying to “fake it until you make it”, as Cuddy suggests.
If you enjoyed this post then you might also enjoy my Secret purpose of meditation is to help you escape your addiction to neuroticism and Not Minding Leads to Confidence, Not Caring to Disengagement and Depression and Optimism is important but it is not the choice between it and pessimism that will help you succeed
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I’m Walter. I write articles on fitness, health, and motivation for men and women over 50. However, curiosity is my main distinction. I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced a bolt of lightning hitting me in Korea, crash landing in a 747 (LAX), being sucked into a thundercloud at 4,000m in a sailplane (Australia), jumping freefall from 3,000m on my 1st ever parachute jump (Florida), and two different lethal cancers. In 2000 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes which sparked my interested in exercise, nutrition, motivation and cognitive fitness. University qualified in mathematical statistics, and computing science (Masters); have a professional diploma in sports nutrition; certified social media strategist. Feel free to message/email me with any comments, questions, or collaboration ideas. Blog: walteradamson.com
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