Stand Up Straight With Your Shoulders Back

The first chapter I have in my book
Is called "stand up straight with your shoulders back"
And it's an injunction to be combative
Not least to further your career, let's say
But also, to adopt a stance of ready engagement with the world
And to reflect that in your posture

I kind of have an affinity for lobsters
When a lobster loses a fight, it kind of crunches down
So he looks smaller
When he wins the fight, he stretches out, looks bigger
And so he's signaling to other lobsters
The tally of his victory

So, you think well so what
The lobster runs on serotonin, a neurochemical
And if the lobster loses the serotonin levels go down
And if he wins the serotonin levels go up
And when the serotonin levels go up
He stretches out
And he's a confident lobster

And one of the consequences of that is if a lobster loses a battle
And you give him the equivalent of antidepressant
Then he stretches out and he'll go fight again

Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back
Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back

Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
Stan-stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back

So, anti-depressants work on lobsters
And you think "Well, who cares?"
It's like, no-no-no, you don't get it
We diverged from lobsters from an evolutionary perspective 350 million years ago
And it's the same circuit
It's absolutely unbelievable
And that shows you how deep inside you, how basic, how primordial that circuit is in you
That's sizing other people up
And looking at where they fit in the hierarchy

The idea of the hierarchy is at least 350 million years old
And so, I read that and I think, well
So much for the idea that human hierarchies are a socio-cultural construct
It's like no, that's wrong
It's not just a little bit wrong, it's unbelievably wrong
It's mindbogglingly wrong

Lobsters have hierarchies
That's a third of a billion years ago
Okay, that's not a social construction
It's part of being itself
And if you only see a hierarchy as power, and tyranny
Then you're looking at the world wrong

Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back
Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back

Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
Stan-stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back

So, this basically says I'm open to the world
But what it also says is I can handle being open to the world
So, it signifies competence and confidence
The deepest Christian idea is that
You should accept the vulnerability of being
That's the acceptance of the crucifixion
You're at the X where all the suffering takes place
You're going to whine about that?
You know, and get resentful and bitter about it
Or you gonna say bring it on
I can handle it, no matter what it is

And the idea is that if you can do that you will transcend the tragedy
And it's like, well, could that be true?
Well, we admire the courageous
So well, how courageous can you get?
That's the question
How courageous can you get?
Well, you practice

Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back
Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back

Stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
Stan-stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight, stand up straight
With your shoulders back

You want to present yourself to the world in a manner
That-that doesn't disgrace you in some sense
You don't want to disgrace yourself
Because the consequence of disgrace is emotional dysregulation
More pain, less positive emotion
And so, the best way to present yourself is to stand up, forthrightly
And to stretch out, you know, and to occupy some space

If you straighten up, and you present yourself in that manner then
Other people are more likely to take you seriously
And that means they'll start treating as if you're a number one lobster
Instead of a number ten lobster
Because one of the general rules of thumb about how to be successful
Is to confront things that frighten you forthrightly and with courage
And that's kind of a universal strategy for success
And so that's what the first chapter is about