Sunday 5 April 2015

It's all in the smile

My friends and family would say I’m a fairly cheery person who, more often than not, has a smile on my face. Don’t get me wrong, there are of course times when I feel down right miserable and mustering a smile is a challenge too far, but for the majority of my waking hours I choose to be happy. 

But what comes first, the smile or the happiness?

Most of the time life makes me smile but I’m not grinning from ear to ear 24/7 (who is?!) so sometimes the smile has to come first, like on a recent miserable Monday morning...
I would have loved to indulge in my bad mood but wouldn't inflict this on my colleagues so arrived at work and unleashed a giant (admittedly forced) grin as I personally feel there is nothing worse than working with people who constantly moan and skulk about the office. With my smile, I literally felt my sour mood ease in seconds and my happiness levels soared. I know full well that if I'd not forced that first smile I would have spent one whole day of my life with, in the words of my dad, “a face like a smacked arse.”  Where's the fun in that?

And it's not just me who is a big fan of the smile. There really are proven benefits.

Smiling = feelings of happiness as proven by a psychologist whizz called Robert Zajonc in 1989. The subjects of his experiments were asked questions that pinpointed their emotional state before and after smiling, and they overwhelmingly scored happier after smiling.
Smiling makes you look good - 70% of us find women more attractive when they smile, than when they wear make-up according to a study by Orbit Complete. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t look a darn site better when they smile, as opposed to frowning or grimacing at every opportunity. Laughter lines trump frown lines any day!
A smile is contagious. Studies have shown that if someone flashes you a smile, responding with a frown is really quite hard. Smile and the world smiles with you. Corny, but oh so true.
A smile reduces stress - Even a forced smile can reduce your stress levels and make you feel happier as the act of smiling naturally releases endorphins (happy hormone) and lowers cortisol levels (stress hormone)

So if you’re not convinced by the above, try it yourself. Smile now, right now, and see if you feel any different. It really is very hard to smile and feel miserable at the same time. Check out this clip of Dr Michael Moseley proving this point with the people of Edinburgh who apparently are prone to being a bit glum -MakeYourself Happier Using Only A Pencil - BBC One

If you do nothing else today, SMILE! 

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