The importances of smiling

I love to smile and believe it is very important to do often . . . so I thought would do a little research into smiling and find out more about it. 

This is what I found out:

Why we should smile:

Smiling is good for our health

Smiling is contagious

Smiling makes others happy and brightens their day

Smiling exudes positivity

Smiling brings us closes to our friends and family

Smiling reduces stress and calms a person

Smiling helps us cope with situations

Smiling can lift a bad mood

Smiling makes a person beautiful

Smiling completes our outfit

Smiling brings about happiness

Smiling feels good

Smiling can help land you a job

Smiling is natural

Smiling can lead to laughter and that too is very good for you.

Smiling is free

Smiling is a universal language understood by all

So start smiling as it is very good for you, body and mind . . . 

Did you know that there are many different sorts of smiles (source):

• Brittle smile — does not show real humour or happiness (forced smile)
• Broad smile — is very wide, showing that a person is very happy
• Cheesy smile — is very obvious but looks false
• Gummy smile — shows lots of gum
• Lazy smile — is slow and relaxed
• Mirthless smile — expresses feelings such as anger or sadness
• Set smile — which never changes and often hides a person’s real feelings
• Thin smile — gives a thin smile, their lips move but the feeling is not sincere
• Tremulous smile — it is not steady, for example because you are afraid or excited
• Cheshire cat smile — silly smile

There are nice friendly smiles and there are unpleasant nasty smiles, do choose the right one!!

Words that describe a smile: 

. . . winning, shy, wide, sunshiny, sincere, seductive, sarcastic, sneering, sinister, sweet, welcoming, winsome, tight, tremulous, gap-toothed, un-self-conscious, smarmy, conceited, cautious, carefree, gracious, disarming, blasé,  happy-go-lucky, dazzling,  sparkling, lovely, loving, friendly, devilish, roguish,  disarming, malicious, malevolent, mischievous, impish, rascally, timid, meek, reluctant, courageous, brave, beautiful, beaming, glowing, incandescent . . .

I am sure you can think of more.

Not everyone likes to smiling:

Not everyone likes to smile or feels comfortable smiling. Those who are very shy can struggle with smiling as they don’t want to be noticed or attract attention by smiling. Some people are now less likely to smile at strangers due to mistrust in the community, this is really sad and with increased fears, this will only get worse. People suffering from depression can find smiling difficult when they are feeling down and isolated and often their smiles hide their true feelings.  We need to be more understand of these people and not force them to smile when life is getting them down. 

Then there are people who think they have ugly smiles so avoid smiling because they think it makes them look unattractive. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t smile at a person who is feeling sad,  lonely, shy or uncomfortable about smiling — just remember to make sure your smile is one of caring and kindness rather than a brittle or cheesy —  and make in genuine and from the heart. No one likes a fake smile.

Smiling is very important for our health and wellbeing and we should never put off a smile, in fact we should be smiling regularly throughout the day — even if there isn’t anyone else around. 

So the next time you're feeling down or out of sorts, try smiling. If you can't find a reason to smile, pop in a funny DVD, read a funny book, watch a cat YouTube clip (that works for me!) or call a friend or come see me as I will do my best to help you find a reason to smile!!

How many times have you smiled today?