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what to do with your body Omit all of that
Televised athletes that suffer anything from a crushing defeat to a narrow loss immediately
take on stereotypically submissive body language Their eyes are downcast their head lowers
they untuck their chin and their entire back curves forward into the characteristic C shape
Most of us take on these postures after somebody else makes a good point in a conversation
No one and nothing should be able to crush your posture Instead think of your favorite
Olympic sport and imagine what stance you would take on if you just won a gold medal in that
event in front of a cheering crowd Use that hourly
As we have seen many submissive displays keep our muscles tense and prevent them from
refreshing hurting us in the long run However some displays communicate modesty without
doing this These include feeling comfortable turning your back to another individual sitting
lower than another or placing yourself in any such position where someone else would have an
advantage if they decided to attack you If you walk into a room and sit in the lowest chair you
make a strong statement showing that being physically lower doesnt make you feel lower
Chapter Serotonin Optimism and Cooperation
frequently sit kneel or lie down next to people that are standing It gets people to lower their
guard When do it it is usually to stretch or allow my muscles to refresh If you do this other
people will get the point and see that you have no fear that others will attack you
In chimpanzees submissive individuals greet dominant ones This involves a sequence of
short shallow pant grunts that probably represent a form of handicapped breathing The
subordinate will assume a position whereby he looks up at the individual he is greeting He
makes a series of deep bows known as bobbing In the words of primatologist Frans de Waal
he practically grovels in the dust The dominant individual will stand up higher and may step
over the individual greeting him When this happens the submissive chimp ducks and puts his
arms up to protect his head Thus even greetings can confirm the dominance relationship
explaining why the alpha is greeted by everyone in the group but greets no one Adults never
greet youngsters and dominants never greet subordinates Ceasing to greet is a direct
challenge What should we take from this think it is gracious to be the one who initiates a
greeting but be aware of your posture and composure when you do so and keep in mind that
you never have to be the one who initiates a hello
Conclusion
used to often feel like prey Walks in metropolitan areas would trigger concerns of being
followed by assailants Being in nature would trigger fears of being stalked by wild animals
Swimming in an ocean lake or even a pool would trigger visions of sharks and prehistoric
marine predators would have frequent nightmares causing me to wake up yelling Every
other night in bed would give myself chills by imagining a home invasion scenario This is all a
distant memory to me now believe that am utterly free of these fears today because my
confidence and serotonin levels are constitutionally higher thanks to Program Peace
Besides massage exercise gratefulness cooperation and assertiveness how else can we
raise our serotonin Every exercise in this book aims to increase serotonin levels After you
have thoroughly practiced walking while breathing deeply with wide eyes above the eye line
shoulders down and a retracted neck it will be legitimate And here is the key Other peoples
inevitable recognition of this legitimacy will cause them to respect you Strangers will see your
posture and address you as boss chief sir or maam Even a subtle increase in the
tokens of respect you receive from your social environment relative to what your serotonergic
system was previously accustomed to will be enough to boost your serotonin
Researcher Michael McGuire and colleagues performed an illuminating experiment They
took a monkey troops alpha member and placed him in a separate room where he could watch
the other monkeys They placed a oneway mirror between the alpha and his subordinate
troopmates so that he could see them but they could not see him Because the alpha could see
his mates he made his ordinary dominance gestures However because they were oblivious to
him they did not make their submissive gestures in response Even though the alpha had far
higher serotonin levels than the other monkeys his serotonin levels fell each day of the
experiment He needed visual signals of their submission to stroke his ego When the
experimenters replaced this oneway mirror with a piece of glass his friends submitted and his
serotonin levels rose again
The trouble with our brain circuitry is that we necessitate submissive displays from others
just to feel normal Many find it impossible to retain a sense of selfworth if others withhold
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
signs of deference But you shouldnt Accept a confidence boost when others exalt you but
retain your confidence when others ignore you There is a deeper lesson to take from this Your
social interactions are not fights but sparring sessions They are not wrestling matches but
wrestling practice Dont see interactions as a competition see them as cooperation You are
working together to help each other become more and more ascendant When people fail to
show you the esteem you feel you deserve think of it as part of the game and let it make you
tougher not weaker
Before started this reprogramming journey my eyerelated body language see Chapter
was worse than most of the human population If had to ascribe numerical values would say
that was in the bottom for having open eyes the bottom for looking upward and the
bottom for capability for eye contact would guess that just around hours in total of
using the exercises from Chapter placed me at least higher in each of these categories
Can you imagine how much less frequently social interactions leave me feeling like a weirdo
and a loser Now come out of them with more serotonin rather than less
Take a moment to consider how other exercises in this book will make additional
contributions to your confidence Once you get the excessive tension out of your face neck
and diaphragm this will be apparent But remember this is not a zerosum game As long as you
are not combining your confidence with aggression your improved body language should not
detract from the body language of others In fact if you use your optimal demeanor equitably
and show others the respect they deserve and perhaps more than they deserve you will
become a role model helping and training others to be more like you
We have seen that there are many ways to increase your serotonin without drugs
However think the most powerful way to increase your confidence is to have faith in your
skills to mitigate conflict The next chapter will tackle this topic
Chapter Serotonin Optimism and Cooperation
Chapter Bullet Points
e Dominant or alpha primates have higher serotonin levels in the blood and brain than the
other members of their group If they are deposed their serotonin plunges and the new
alphas serotonin will soar
e Being an alpha with high serotonin that can never be deposed is a state of mind you can
create with time
e Increased serotonin makes you feel less stressed in response to threats and less
concerned with other peoples expectations regarding your subordination displays
e We act in ways to increase our serotonin but this often brings us into conflict with
others and can lead to selfdestructive behavior
e Any wins garnered through aggression or hostility are temporary and unsustainable
e Increase your confidence not through pitting yourself against or comparing yourself to
others but through appreciating the abundance you already have
e You dont have to be a highenergy extrovert to be assertive and high in status
e You have reached ego dissolution once your breathing is no longer controlled by pride
or prestige