About six months ago I started making a deliberate habit of modifying my "beta" slouchy posture to one of an "Alpha" dominant posture. Along with hitting the gym on the regular, focusing a bit more on my diet, and taking in a steady stream of RP wisdom, I have learned the following:

Posture matters!

I'm a tall, gangly dude at 6'2''. It's always been easy to slouch. Slouching makes it easier to watch my step where I walk. see myself in a mirror or allow me to "hide" in a crowd. Clothes never really fit so slouching also provided a way in which they would. Slouching wasn't just a posture thing, it was part of my identity.

Since improving my posture, I can feel the effects bad posture had on my psyche and on my surroundings.

When meeting new people, their attitude towards me is different in just the right way as to invoke a leadership quality in myself that seems to have always been there, but always dormant. When I maintain my posture, my requests of people are more willingly followed and the respect of everybody towards me is palpable. For the first time in my life, when walking down the street, I can lock eyes with a woman and actually get a bashful smile in return, rather than the quick aversion of the eyes, to which I am most accustomed.

It was very uncomfortable at first, as my posture appealed to a confidence that, quite frankly, I didn't have. I felt that just by fixing my posture I was saying something to the people around me. My beta tendencies of not wanting to offend and always be a people-pleaser were being challenged. In retrospect, my slouching made me feel like I was apologizing to everybody for being taller than them. I had so long trained my identity to be that of a lovable pup that merely taking the posture of a Alpha dog shook my emotions.

Beyond that, it took physical exertion on my part to make it happen. I had to constantly "remind" myself to fix my posture over and over. Many a conversation were lost as I would be paying attention to someone only to blank out as I adjusted my posture. It was tedious, no doubt.

I really only followed this simple instructional video for a few weeks. After that, I just made it a habit to have good posture when walking around or standing. I figured, everybody has to have a posture, why should mine be bad?

And things are so different now it's hard to remember what it was like before. Nowadays, if I assume a poor posture, it is physically and emotionally uncomfortable. It actually hurts. My posture feels right and normal now. When I see a group of slouchers, I can walk right up to them and immediately have that edge that makes it so much simpler to meet and greet. I've also discovered that holding this posture makes it so much easier to maintain direct eye-contact with someone else. I've had so many women look me in the eyes and, while I maintain eye-contact without wavering, they eventually avert their eyes in a shy, if not subservient, way. (Perhaps it's a micro shit-test?)

Either way, posture matters. Add it to the list of self-improvement items you'll be ticking off as you become your best you. It's definitely uncomfortable at first, but I don't think I could have made half the gains I have in my life recently if I hadn't fixed it.

Good luck, gentlemen.