Smile More to Be Happier

This is Week One of the How To Be Happy program. Give the skill outlined below a try for one week. Consider it a one-week experiment. Commit to follow these simple steps every day of the week.

Introduction

What You’ll Do: For the entire week, you’ll focus on smiling more. You’ll develop a way to remind yourself to smile throughout your day and even force a smile onto your face periodically. Why? Research shows that if you smile, your mood actually improves.

How It Works: Researchers think that by forcing a smile, you activate a specific set of muscles in the face. That set of muscles is closely connected to the emotions of happiness and joy. By smiling, you are signaling the emotional centers of your brain to tell them that everything is good.

Get Motivated: Smiling more is a simple way to greatly improve the quality of your life. All you have to do is smile, and life will be better. Really. It’s that simple.

The Steps

1. Practice Smiling: Smile. Do it right now as you read this. Put a big, warm smile on your face. Not a fake, strange smile, but a real smile, like you are seeing an old friend after several years. Now, think of something unhappy but keep smiling. It is difficult to hold an unhappy or negative thought in your mind while keeping a smile on your face. Smiling can help increase happiness and decrease negativity.
2. Give Yourself a Smile Cue: Now that you have practiced smiling and understand a little bit about how smiling can improve your mood, the trick is remembering to smile as you go through your day. You will probably need a reminder to smile often. Choose something that you hear, see or do often during the day to be your “smile cue.” You might choose a sound as your reminder, like a phone ringing or an email notification beep. You might choose an action, such as getting in or out of your car, to remind you to smile. You might choose a visual reminder, like seeing someone drinking coffee or seeing someone laughing. Challenge yourself to smile every time you encounter your cues for this entire week.
3. Stay Motivated: People who smile while talking make a much better impression – they seem more confident and friendly. You can even “hear” a smile over the phone. If you smile while taking a call, the tone of your voice will lighten and you’ll be able to make a better connection through the phone.

Commitment: This week I will smile every time I am reminded by my “smile cue.”

Tips

• Don’t look strange. Make your smiles natural, warm and sincere. You are trying to maintain an elevated mood, not look crazy. Even just a small, almost unnoticeable smile can alter your mood.
• Smile every time you think of it, not only when you encounter your smile cue.
• Think of something you really like when you smile – it will help make your smile sincere. Think of your favorite vacation spot, driving a brand new car or a good friend.
• Take a deep breath while you smile. This will help lessen any stress you have and give you a moment to enjoy your smile. A deep breath or two increases the relaxation and mood enhancing power of smiling.
• Place notes and reminders of this skill throughout your world to remind you to smile more. Put a note on the phone, send yourself an email message, or make a note in your calendar. Make sure that you have plenty of reminders to smile more often.

More

Taking smiling to the next level involves laughing. Figure out a way that you can laugh more this week. You don’t simply want to be amused – you want to be laughing out loud. Laughing out loud, much like smiling, creates an emotional state that relieves stress and lifts your mood. Search out things to laugh about every day this week. Read jokes, watch movies and talk to funny people. Think of the funniest stories you know and tell one each day this week.

Here is the whole program. Give each one a solid one-week try, and then come back and do the next one. If you want a reminder, sign up for the How To Be Happy E-Course. It is free, and you’ll get short e-mail reminders each day to help keep you on track.

The How To Be Happy Program

• How To Be Happy Program Overview
• Smile More (Week One)
• Accentuate the Positive (Week Two)
• Let Go (Week Three)
• Enjoy (Week Four)