How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life pdfdrive com

CONNECT WITH YOUR VALUES
Now let’s talk about what you can do to boost your confidence well before the
adrenaline kicks in. Another way to tap into your discovery-mode self is to take
a step back from the task before you and spend a moment reflecting on the
bigger things in life, such as your values and your sense of purpose.
Can something as simple as that really make a difference? Yes, measurably
so. In a study at UCLA, psychologist David Creswell and his colleagues ran an
experiment where they asked volunteers to take the stress-inducing Trier test I
described earlier. Before the test, all the volunteers were given a survey that
asked them to rank the values and issues that were important to them. Then some
of them were asked questions to elicit their thoughts and feelings about the value
they cared about most strongly. 
Those
volunteers, the ones who spent time
reflecting on an important personal value, had a different experience in the
stressful parts of the test that followed. They reported feeling better able to cope
and less anxious about the speech. And their brains and bodies apparently
agreed, because the level of cortisol in their saliva was indeed markedly lower.
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How can you tap into your personal values to exude more confidence under
pressure? Here are three things to try before you step up to the plate with a big
request or bold assertion:
Write a couple of sentences about your broader aspirations in life or
work.
A study by psychologists Gavin Kilduff and Adam Galinsky (at NYU
and Columbia University, respectively) found that people who did this were
subsequently rated as more proactive and leader-like by their co-workers,
even when their tasks had nothing to do with the personal goals they wrote
about.
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Remind yourself of the noble reason behind the thing you’re about to do.
Who (apart from yourself) is going to benefit from whatever you’re asking or
advocating? Will it help your organization, society, or the people in your

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audience? One of the things that can hold us back from making a request is a
feeling that we’re being somehow selfish, or a concern that people will
perceive
us as selfish. That’s why Greg periodically reminds himself that he’s
“transforming the future of healthcare,” not just “asking for money.” He
knows he’s more relaxed and confident when he adopts that perspective.