Want to know my secret to a better mood? Take a minute to stop what you are doing. Now smile. No, don’t purse your lips and clench your teeth, not a smile like that. A genuine smile. Think of yourself as the preschooler getting their school picture taken. Say “cheese”. They call this Smile Therapy and it works. Did you feel your heart open a little when you smiled? Did you feel a weight lift off your shoulders? Smiling is a very simple thing, but it can also be a very powerful thing.
My son was once having a difficult day. It was as if everything wasn’t going his way. So I decided to show him how “smiling makes everything better”. I remember his head buried in my shoulder, on the verge of tears, looking at me as if I was crazy, but he obliged and I did it too. Instantly his mood changed for the better, his face lit up and his eyes came alive. Well since then, this has turned into a thing in my house.
Have you ever been in a fight with your spouse or partner? There are times when we are so mad, he/she isn’t listening to me, he/she is not understanding what I’m saying. The blood starts to boil in your body. Of course, this has happened to my husband and me. We can’t always see eye to eye, but when our fight seems to be heading in a bad direction, there comes a point where he and I look at each other and smile. I know this sounds crazy, but there is just something about stopping for a minute and breaking that tension. It allows us to communicate better. We stop screaming, fuming, and the blood begins to simmer down. That simple exercise changes the mood for the better and allows us to come back to earth.
Whether you are driving into your driveway carrying a lot of baggage from work or gearing up for an interview you really want to crush, stop for a second and smile. Feel your heart open and feel your shoulders lighten.
