Smile is such a small thing, yet has a profound impact. And it impacts not only others, but you, too.
Smiling costs only the effort for you and can mean a world to someone else. Never underestimate the power of a simple smile and be generous in giving it away. It’s the one good deed that we can all do everyday without telling anyone and expecting nothing in return – to smile kindly to someone.
Smile can be the involuntary response to something that springs laughter and joy in us, yet it can also be a conscious choice. The very act of smile (the expression on your face) alone causes positive effects in your body and enhances your wellbeing, even when it’s faked.
I don’t mean to encourage you to fake your smiles, although I do encourage you to give this outer smile a try next time you feel yourself being in heavy energy and mindset and longing for a lighter one. I call this forced expression of smile an outer smile, whereas the one that comes naturally, I call an inner smile.
I’ve used the outer smile to help me recondition, for example, myself when doing chores at home. There was a time when I dreaded all kinds of chores at home, feeling overwhelmed just by the thought. But that mindset did not really serve the purpose. Or the wellbeing of our family.
That’s when I gave this outer smile a try consciously. I’ve faked my smiles before, we all have, but this was something different. It was not to please someone else, it was to make things smoother for my family, and myself.
The very act of smile changes the chemistry in your brain and, as a consequence, changes the mood and the mindset you’re in. So, as I was folding laundry, vacuum cleaning, wiping dust or doing the dishes, I did it with an outer smile. Until, one day, I noticed I was actually smiling an inner smile and surrounded by much nicer thoughts in my mind while doing the chores.
By the way, it’s never about the chores in the first place. It’s the story we tell about the chores to ourselves. And the mindset we get ourselves into as a consequence. Yet we have the freedom to change that narrative whenever we want to. Smiling is a good start.
Much love,
Paula
xx