It’s tough to find the energy to stick with things these days.  We’re all working harder than we ever have before and on many days, feeling as if we’re running in place, at best.  It’s not surprising that people are questioning their capabilities, their ability to prevail and whether they are the ones who will find that critical key to success.  People’s prides have taken a beating as they have run faster and faster on the treadmill with little impact. 

So, it’s good to know that there’s a little thing we can do to make ourselves feel better and be perceived in a successful light…act proud even when you don’t feel proud. 

Today’s New York Times (www.newyorktimes.com) reports on recent research by Jessica L. Tracy of the University of British Columbia and Richard W. Robins of the University of California that shows that feelings of pride can help people weather difficult storms and actually result in body language and expressions that make others see those people in a more dominant, likeable light.  Apparently, there are common expressions — involving a head tilt and a certain smile — demonstrated by all people experiencing a proud moment.  And, when those expressions are witnessed by others, they like us more, are more likely to assign higher status to us and all of that, in turn, makes us feel good.

Now, the researchers say that you can basically fake that attitude of pride.  But personally, I think it would be hard to pull off without being arrogant unless you did some method acting and remembered particularly proud moments and the feelings they evoked. 

But, maybe there’s something the non-great actors amongst us can do…we can take pride in the little things.  We can take a moment to feel proud about helping a colleague, a child’s ability to master a task they had struggled with, the good work and success of friends and family.  Maybe we can also take a moment to make others feel proud…celebrate their work…appreciate the small things they do and…feel proud because we made them feel proud.