While watching a TED talk recently, I learned the following statistics about smiling.
- Less than 33% of adults smile more than 20 times a day, while 14% smile less than five times a day.
The simple interpretation……the majority of us are smiling between 5-20 times a day. That may not be all that surprising until you learn that children smile on average over 400 times daily. Being a grown up doesn’t sound all that much fun in comparison. Have we forgotten how to smile as adults? Are we too busy to remember to do so? Truth be told we are busy, have mounting stress and are thinking about the many other things we need to do (or Guests we may need to deal with). However this one expression can increase our attitude throughout the day and we will handle our “To Do” lists with much more ease and efficiency. The act of smiling has been proven to reduce stress hormones and increase the feel good hormones such as serotonin and endorphins, that we all know and love. Smiling also reduces blood pressure and is linked to a healthier and increased lifespan.
Another fact – our brain doesn’t differentiate between a sincere or a real smile, it just knows that we are. Even when we don’t feel like smiling we should create the habit of doing so. When you smile, others will smile back. The more people that smile back at you, the more your smile will form naturally and your mood will change for the better. This simple act of smiling can change our entire outlook for the day, even in stressful situations. Smiling brings happiness to ourselves and to others and ultimately makes us more comfortable with each other.
My advice for the day is to google the TED talk by Ron Gutman. There is an interesting fact about chocolate bars that made me smile. I’m hoping it will do the same for you. Enjoy!
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
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