May 14, 2007
Smiling. Such a simple thing and yet it has so much power.
Many people think that happy feelings cause smiling when, in fact, the opposite is true. Researchers asked study participants to hold a pencil in their mouths in one of two ways:
- hold the pencil by the end and have it stick straight out of the mouth, or
- hold the pencil between the teeth lengthwise.
The second position mimics the look of a smile. After holding the position for a period of time, participants were asked to rate their feelings. Researchers found that those participants who held the pencils so as to mimic a smile rated their feelings as more positive than the control group (yes, yes, they took a baseline reading and met all requirements for a good study. Please don’t write me about the basics of elegant study design J ).
The point is that, even when we don’t feel happy, pasting a smile on our face triggers our brains to believe we’re happy. Eventually that fake smile becomes a real one.
How do you spot a real smile? Look at the smiler’s eyes. A genuine smile makes our eyes crinkle.Dale Carnegie, in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, best summed up the lasting impacts of a smile: “It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.“None are so rich or mighty that they can get along without it, and none are so poor but are richer for its benefits. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.“Some people are too tired to give you a smile, may we ask that you leave them one of yours? For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give!”Is there anyone in your life that you could give a smile to today? Who knows, you might get one back!Until the next chapter,Lisa
