Smiling seems so basic but it can be a challenge for someone who is contending with trauma. When we are upset, the last thing we feel inclined to do is smile or laugh. I am sure most of us sometimes neglect to smile especially during hard times. I have certainly been there many times! However, I have realized that smiling (especially when it goes against what we are feeling) is powerful for our overall health and well-being.
You might be asking, “What’s the big deal? Who cares if I smile or not?” Believe it or not, smiling matters. Making an effort to smile can be so healing and make a huge difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
Smiling is good for us!
Science has proven that smiling is good for us. Even when we “fake smile,” it has positive effects on us and those around us. It acts as a natural antidepressant, helps to slow our heart rate, and releases “feel good” hormones that help us to feel better. Smiling helps to fight off stress.
Can you imagine that? That’s pretty incredible! There is tremendous power in something as seemingly simple as smiling!
Motivation for the Week
This week I want to motivate you to turn that frown upside down and try smiling more. Start with a forced smile if you need to. Practice smiling in the mirror. Find opportunities to smile throughout the day. If you pass someone on the street, smile (if it feels safe to do so). Smile at your loved ones, your pets, your neighbors, the mailman, your boss, etc. Over time, smiling will start to come more naturally to you. While it’s certainly not going to be a cure-all, it will help you to feel better. You’ll feel less stressed and more capable of handling whatever stresses come your way. Smiling can help you open the door to experiencing more peace, patience, gratitude, and joy. It can also help you function better in the everyday and is a great way to use the God-given mechanisms you have available to you in order to heal.
Smiling is a gift. A smile can break through the hardest of hearts. It can show our love and appreciation for others. A smile has the power to heal. There is power in smiling!
The Value of a Smile:
“It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive it, without impoverishing those who give it. It happens in a flash, and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich that they can get along without it, and none so poor but are richer for its benefits. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in 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 no earthly good until it is given away.”
(Anonymous)
