Janus

Janus
Posted on 01/24/11

Ahhh. January. How I love thee. Let me count the ways…my planner is blissfully unmarred. There are 11 more months before I even need to think about Christmas shopping. And six before bathing suit season. All of my bad habits are a memory in 2010…this year I will diet, not procrastinate, and be more gracious.

Yes, the time has come to once again make the transition to a new year. January (named for the two-headed Roman god Janus – he was able to look in two directions at once), is the literal and psychological moment we take stock of the outgoing year and resolve to make changes for the upcoming one.

So many popular resolutions stem from a desire to improve personal appearance. Sure, losing five pounds would be awesome…but did you know that you can spruce up your look with a few simple body language techniques?

There are plenty of quick fixes for bad body language; the trick is identifying your possible problem areas. Like Janus, we can gain perspective by looking backward and forward at the same time. An easy way to do this is to take a peek at some photos of you taken over the last 12 months.

Unlike Janus (and the ancient Romans), we have social networking sites that allow us to see the past as we plan for the future. To ferret out body language failures, photos on Facebook are your friends.

Pictures on social networking sites like Facebook can provide a handy history of your bad body language habits. To use this photographic record to its fullest potential, focus on candid shots instead of posed ones, and don’t just look at the good pictures! Peruse your friends’ albums to find those pictures you de-tagged because of a bad hair day, goofy grin, or regrettable wardrobe choice (yea, we all know you do that). This will ensure you gain a complete and accurate account baseline for your behavior.

Start with photographs from New Year’s festivities and look for areas in desperate need of improvement. Do you slouch? Are your arms always crossed? Do you stand on the fringe of group convos (instead of planting yourself in the middle), marginalizing yourself and your contributions to the group?

Continue looking back at photos from events throughout the past year to establish your baseline. Is your slumped stature due to “party fatigue” or a recurring posture problem? Do you cross your arms when cold or tired, or is that your natural stance (which by the way…puts a literal wall in between you and others!) When you are in a group, are you always on the edge of the conversation…or was that a fluke?

Next, i.d. one body language goal for the New Year.

Wouldn’t parties be more fun if you were in the center of every conversation (literally and figuratively)? Couldn’t you appear more approachable and friendly if you unlocked those arms and casually held them at your sides (bring a sweater if you get chilly people.) Wouldn’t you appear more confident with your head held high and your back out of its slump?

Becoming more conscious of your flaws will go a long way towards changing bad habits; and you can easily monitor your progress by checking photos of yourself throughout the year. Every time you see a camera flash, you’ll be reminded to stand up straight to improve your informal “score.”

The ancient Romans believed Janus could look into the future as well as the past, but wed certainly aren’t so lucky. While Janus probably would have had an account on “2Facebook” with pictures of himself for several years to come, our futures are yet unwritten (and certainly un-photographed!).

Be sure to leverage every asset available and monitor your progress consistently. It’s up to you to make 2011 a year to remember!