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What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
Vincent Van Gogh
Smiling changes your attitude, raises your confidence, and makes you more attractive.
As we rush through our busy days accomplishing our tasks—work, kids, shopping, cleaning, and eating on the go, we often complain that we don’t feel good. There is a simple, quick, and effective way that you can feel better throughout the day and also be more attractive.
All you have to do is smile more.
Smiling changes your attitude, whether you realize it or not. If you have any doubts, next time you feel down, start smiling and thinking positive thoughts and see what happens.
You can’t help but have a better attitude when you smile.
Smiling also raises your confidence.
Smiling affects our emotions because of a brain-body connection. It triggers scientifically measurable activity in the left frontal cortex—the area of the brain where happiness is registered.
In fact, there is science dedicated to the study of facial expressions and responses called FACS – Facial Action Coding System. Your face has 44 muscles between the skin, cartilage, blood, and bone that you contort, flex, and move. This lets you make over 5000 different types of expressions. That’s a lot of expressions! And each will have a different affect on your feelings and those looking at you.
Admit it, when someone is smiling aren’t you drawn in? Don’t you enjoy that person’s company more? We all do. Smiling is a very important part of connecting and getting to know someone.
As your life-coach, I offer you this push. I want you to smile. Go ahead. “SMILE!” Great!
Let’s do it again but this time breathe in through your nose, let it out through your mouth and smile as you let the air out. Doesn’t that feel good? The breathing is very important. Your nostrils are attached to the limbic system. The limbic system controls your emotions, and when you breathe in deep through your nose it has a calming effect on you. So breathe in and smile.
Let’s add a final touch: “positive thinking.” It doesn’t hurt to get excited and say out loud to yourself, “I feel good and I am taking control and finding my opportunities!” Go ahead and do it. Feel that positive energy in your body and the release of tension.
Now that you know how good smiling is for you, make a conscious effort to use this smile exercise a minimum of six times throughout your day. When you smile remember to breathe in through your nose and think positive thoughts. This I guarantee will make a positive impact on your day and in your life.
In fact, the result from this simple exercise will have a huge effect. Here’s a basic fact about energy: it is attracted to energy of a similar frequency. So when you smile not only will you make yourself feel better, you will also attract positive energy into your life.
So smile!
By Devlyn Steele
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Do you know it takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown? Smiling is a great energy boost for anyone, and the response that you get from smiling at someone is amazing!
Think about when you are having a bad day, nothing has gone right for you and you can not wait for the day to be over! I am sure that we have all had days exactly like this one...maybe it was a bad day at work.
Then something happens...you stop at the grocery store, or you pass someone on the way to your car, or perhaps it is the person in a car next to you on your way home....they SMILE at you! Not just one of those tiny fake smiles, a real warm and friendly smile!
How does it make you feel? Many times that one smile, and maybe a nice friendly "Hello", can completely change your entire mood! Think about the last time something like that happened to you. I remember having a day like that; and then one person, with that one little gesture of kindness - A Smile - made me start feeling a whole lot better!
Here's a short and quick story for you - I use to be a manager in retail for 15 years, and customer service was my #1 priority above anything else. I taught this to everyone that worked under me.
One day I had a gentleman come through my register and he has in a very nasty mood. You could just see it in his face and gestures! I was always nice to everyone, but when I would see someone like him, I would make a point of trying to cheer them up.
I was talking to him saying the norm, "Hi! How are you today?..." etc, but he was just not going to give in to my kindness. I started joking with him about being in a bad mood and he finally had no choice but to "smile".
Well, the same man came back the very next day, he walked up to me and said this to me - "I want to thank you for what you did yesterday. When I left here I went home smiling, and in fact, I forgot about what I was upset about! You were not going to give up until I smiled or something were you?" I told him "No, I wasn't." He proceeded to tell me I made his day etc. and we turned out to be very good friends after that!
So see the effect a smile, or a kind word, can have on someone else! So start SMILING - you and someone else will really appreciate it!
Marilyn L. Ali
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