It often surprises me that one of the easiest and most rewarding forms of self-happiness is one that we forget to do so often – that is simply to smile.
Our own superpower.
Happiness, positivity, and hope all come from the magical power of a smile. This superpower has the potential to change lives – not only our own, but others around us.
Smiling has the ability to trick our brains into feeling happy, meaning it can change our mood in an instant – when we smile our brains assume something nice has taken place and it triggers a happy response. Amazing!
Smiling has so many positives: It can make you healthier, make you look more youthful, more likeable, and more competent.
It helps us to overcome obstacles and anxiety by reducing those stress enhancing hormones and replacing them with happy hormones instead. Even a forced smile can lead to a boost in our mood.
Yes, it really is our own amazing superpower, and it’s so easily accessible.
Research shows that smiling induces more pleasure in the brain than chocolate – this one fact alone is enough to make me go about smiling for the whole day J
A smile plays a role in everything we do, from affecting the feelings within ourselves, to affecting every interaction we have with others.
Something as simple as an upward curl of your lips and a sparkle in your eyes can transform someone else’s day.
Even the tone of your voice over the phone can communicate a virtual smile. That smile sets the scene for establishing a relationship of friendship and trust.
And finally, smiling is timeless – as a baby in the womb, we smile. The smiles we receive as a new-born are our first building blocks of warm, loving relationships. Through these smiles babies learn that they are safe and secure. Children smile 400 times a day on average. 400 times!! Compared to the average happy adult who only manages to smile 40-50 times a day.
Imagine a world where we connect again, where we actually see the people we interact with each day and observe them genuinely and purposefully smiling as they go about their day.
Imagine a world where happiness, positivity and hope are highlighted each day. This world we imagine can be so easily accessed if each of us taps into the superpower of our smile. It takes just one smile to make a difference in the world.
Smiling is a beautiful sentiment – it is a form of communication that is accepted worldwide regardless of gender, race or success. It unites and embraces us all.
For more mindset and mental wellbeing tools and information, join our Positive Mindset Challenge at https://yourhappyplace.org.nz/