Smile! Happy Looks Good on You

Smiling more can positively impact your personal and professional life. Take a second to think back over your day today or yesterday. Did you smile at others throughout the day? Did others smile at you? If you smiled more and received smiles from others, it’s likely that those small interactions impacted your day in a positive way--even if you didn’t realize it.

According to the website Science: How Stuff Works, “It takes approximately 43 muscles to frown and 17 muscles to smile.” The basic lesson from that is smiling is easier and frowning takes more work. So, why not smile more and help your body out?

Consider the following ways that smiling more throughout the day can benefit your life in positive and productive ways.

Increases Your Approachability Factor

If you are truly honest with yourself, you’d likely admit that you’d rather interact with people who smile more than frown. During this honest assessment, you’ll probably recognize that you’ve had more positive interactions with people when you smiled more and had a good attitude. Smiling can increase your approachability factor. That’s a good thing for both your personal and professional life. When you smile at someone, they can immediately evaluate your facial expression and see that you are approaching them in a friendly manner. A genuine smile is a universal signal for someone who is approachable.

Can Lighten Your Mood

As mentioned previously, it takes more work for your facial muscles to frown instead of smile. If you smile more, that can lighten your mood because you are subconsciously giving your body the message that you want to bring light and positivity into all your interactions. According to Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., in Psychology Today, “Each time you smile, you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.”

Can Decrease Your Stress Levels

If you want to decrease your stress levels, one thing you can do is to stop frowning so much and start smiling more. That sounds like a simple solution for lowering your stress levels. Dr. Riggio further explains that “Smiling activates the release of neuropeptides that work toward fighting off stress.” Those neuropeptides, or tiny molecules, enable neurons to communicate with each other. These molecules are an integral factor in communicating to your entire body how you feel--whether you are joyful, depressed, frustrated, or worried. The main takeaway here is that smiling more can become a powerful catalyst in lowering your stress levels.

Cultivates Positivity by Smiling

Have you ever been around a smiling, giggling baby or happy toddler? Think about a time when you had a bad day, and someone smiled at you. That simple act likely boosted your mood and helped you turn around a bad attitude. You can cultivate more positivity in your personal and professional life simply by smiling more. That simple act can become contagious to those around you and subconsciously encourage them to start smiling too.

Reap the Benefits of Smiling More Daily

Do you want to cultivate more positivity in your life and improve your productivity levels? Then try smiling more each day. When you smile, you can increase your approachability factor and break down walls as you interact with others daily in both your personal and professional life. Smiling more can lighten your mood and help you to continue to be more encouraging to others. Simply by smiling more, you can begin to decrease your stress levels. Nurture more positivity in your life by smiling more.