A Happiness Tip
Do you want to be happier? You may need to smile. Yes, research shows that smiling can improve your mood. Most of us think that the good mood comes first. You are in a good mood which causes you to smile. Have you ever considered that sometimes it is actually the other way around?
Studies show that the more you smile the happier you feel. This does not mean that you forbid yourself to grieve and walk around with a fake smile every minute of everyday. No, that’s not it at all. But it does mean that if you smile at each person that you meet and smile when you pass a stranger on the street, your mood will improve.
It is also helpful to be aware of the good things in life. If you spend your day taking inventory of the good rather than the bad that surrounds you, you will smile more. Instead of focusing on the traffic that is holding you up, accept that the traffic is beyond your control, and remind yourself of the blessings in your life. Instead of focusing on the people who annoy you, think about the ones who love you.
When you are feeling a lot of stress, you may also want to ask yourself, “Will this really matter one year from now, one month from now, or even one week from now?” Many times just knowing that our distress is temporary can bring a smile to our face. The important thing is to always look at the bigger picture rather than getting sucked up in needless minutiae.
Since we know that smiling improves our mood, you may want to opt for the comedy every now and then. Dramas are great and often have a way of sparking our emotion. But so do comedies. They make us laugh, they make us smile. If you are a drama lover, you might want to try a comedy for a change. It may improve your mood, your happiness, and your health. It will hopefully make you smile.
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Big smile to you! 🙂
A big smile back to you!
Reblogged this on Wholeheartedness and commented:
Good stuff, Kristin. This sounds goofy but it actually works — changing your physiology can kick off chemical changes that change your perspective!
Thanks for sharing, Todd. Yes, I works! 🙂
More comedies and laughter. I like this idea!!
Me,too.
I think there’s more than one happiness tip in your post! As I finished reading it, I found myself smiling. Thank you for your wisdom and creating more happiness in the world!
Smiles to you, Vicki. 🙂
Reblogged this on High School Edumacation.
Thank you for sharing this with your readers! 🙂
I’m already happy, but I’ll try to smile more. I know it works!
Smiles to you, Anneli! 🙂
I read this great study where 1/3 of the subjects had chopsticks or something placed in their mouths to hold up a fake smile. Another 3rd relied on genuine smiles. The final group was the no smile group. The genuine smile group experienced a greater improvement in mood and sense of wellbeing. But even the forced smile group had similar improvements. Fake it til you make it.
Yes! 🙂
What fires together wires together smile or frown will become habit
Our choice
Yes, our choice!
great post…there’s a lot of truth in the saying “fake it til you make it”
You bet! 🙂
Great post Kristin, passing along smiles is one of my favorite things to do! I love watching other’s responses when you nod your head at them and blessing them with a big smile 🙂
🙂
It’s the old ‘What we think about, we bring about” 🙂
So true, Stuart! 🙂