{"id":5298,"date":"2014-11-24T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?p=5298"},"modified":"2014-11-21T14:51:46","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T22:51:46","slug":"an-unconventional-way-to-increase-gmat-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/an-unconventional-way-to-increase-gmat-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unconventional Way to Increase GMAT Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It may sound a bit strange, but one of the most important classes I\u2019ve taken in my life was on posture. And what I learned from this class may actually benefit your level of <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-101\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">GMAT<\/a> confidence. Did I pique your interest? Then keep reading to learn more!<\/p>\n<p>The class was on the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alexander_technique\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alexander technique<\/a>, specifically, and it\u2019s influenced how I interact with the world around me every day since. I\u2019m far from a master of the technique, so I\u2019m not going to try to pass on any nuggets of wisdom on how to go about it, but I do want to share one of the most important lessons it\u2019s taught me: how I arrange my body <em>drastically<\/em> influences how I feel.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve seen <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amy Cuddy\u2019s TED talk<\/a> on that topic, then maybe this is old news. (If you haven\u2019t seen that, by the way, watch it right now. I\u2019ll wait here for you.) But take a moment to consider whether you\u2019ve actually acted on what she says, and what the effects of doing so could be.<\/p>\n<p>I first realized how much of an effect my stance had on my emotions and stress levels when I began teaching. Most jobs are a bit tough the first year, as you get acclimated, but teaching can be brutally stressful\u2014there\u2019s a reason public speaking is so commonly hated, isn\u2019t there? It\u2019s a rare talent to be at ease when you know that everybody in the room is watching you and, in some way in another, judging you. Tension sky rockets, hearts pound, minds go blank. In order to be an effective teacher, you have to learn how to keep yourself calm in the face of that. The quickest route, I found, was posture. The more relaxed and well-aligned my body was, the more clearly I could think and talk.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not tough to draw the line from there to the GMAT. There are few experiences so anxiety-inducing as a standardized test, especially one that\u2019s infamously difficult and has a concrete impact on your career options. Clearly, thinking straight during the test is key. But clear thinking is not just a function of how smart or experienced you are. It depends heavily on how you feel in a given moment. If you are more confident and relaxed, then you will, without fail, be closer to the top of your game.<\/p>\n<p>So during your GMAT, sit back. Feel the width of your shoulders spreading out and away from your spine, the weight of your feet planted firmly on the floor in front of you, the flexibility and direction of your neck. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/02\/10\/magazine\/why-can-some-kids-handle-pressure-while-others-fall-apart.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Breathe deeply<\/a>. Act like hot stuff, and conquer the test in front of you.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It may sound a bit strange, but one of the most important classes I\u2019ve taken in my life was on posture. And what I learned from this class may actually benefit your level of GMAT confidence. Did I pique your interest? Then keep reading to learn more! The class was on the Alexander technique, specifically, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13220],"class_list":["post-5298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>An Unconventional Way to Increase GMAT Confidence - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/an-unconventional-way-to-increase-gmat-confidence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Unconventional Way to Increase GMAT Confidence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It may sound a bit strange, but one of the most important classes I\u2019ve taken in my life was on posture. And what I learned from this class may actually benefit your level of GMAT confidence. Did I pique your interest? Then keep reading to learn more! 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