18 Surprising Reasons to Keep Smiling More Everyday
There are a number of surprising reasons to keep SMILING more everyday! Did you know a SMILE will support your personal growth, a healthy mindset, and living your best life through all stages of life? SMILING will also support your health, happiness, and overall wellness! So KEEP SMILING!
Ever since I was in fourth grade (a LONG time ago:), I have signed my name with a Smiley Face below it or after it! When I became a School Administrator many years later, I remember my immediate supervisor suggesting that I stop putting a Smiley Face in my email signature block because it didn’t look professional. Huh, I thought?
I discussed this with friends, family, and educational leaders from my Human Resources graduate program — and decided not to make any changes. The fact was, in most cases, my Smiley Faces helped put people at ease, feel as though I cared about them, and maybe even caused them to SMILE as they read the email.
I decided it’s very possible to be a professional and still SMILE in person and in emails. Period. Research supported my decision. So let’s learn 18 surprising reason to KEEP SMILING!
18 Surprising Reasons to Keep Smiling
Your smile is a visual expression of who you are, and is often associated with your emotions. You can’t deny the feel-good power of a happy facial expression. We are born with the ability to smile, but as we age, we smile less often.
Children smile up to 400 times a day; happy adults smile 40-50 times a day, but your typical adult only smiles an average of 20 times per day. Isn’t that sad?
Studies show that people who smile a lot appear more likeable, courteous and competent. They also tend to be more productive at work and make more money! Interesting, huh? Lots of good reasons to keep smiling!
Smiling has a positive affect on your body and mind in a variety of positive ways. It offers benefits for your health, your mood, and the moods of people around you. Now let’s read more and convince you to keep smiling!
You can also be inspired to live a brighter life by these 160 amazing SMILE QUOTES and images!
1. Smiling Helps You Live Longer
There are countless scientific studies and research that suggests a happy, positive mood accompanied by frequent smiles is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle that helps you live a longer life! So stay focused on the long-term benefits of the simple act of smiling and keep smiling so you live a long happy life!
2. Smiling Relieves Stress
Likewise, research indicates smiling reduces stress levels even if you don’t feel like smiling. When you are stressed, give it a try! Stop and take time to put a SMILE on your beautiful face. Your smile tells your brain to release a stress hormone and calming endorphins. So keep calm and smile on!
3. Smiling Elevates Mood
Have you ever heard of feel-good neurotransmitters? A simple smile can trigger the release of certain neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin in your brain. These brain chemicals naturally boost your mood. You can think of a SMILE as a natural antidepressant! By adopting a happy facial expression, your brain helps you enter a natural state of happiness and a positive mood.
4. Smiling Is Contagious
We all know that one person who brings joy wherever they go. It’s like they’ve never known a rainy day! When you see that person, your mood generally shifts to one of joy and happiness, right?
Generally, happiness spreads more happiness. You could fill a room with joy, and improve the lives of others’ just by SMILING!
Smiling is a beautiful sentiment because it’s a universal language that everyone understands and appreciates.
Since you never know when someone really needs a SMILE to brighten his/her day, you could be that friend! Keep smiling and share the message that you’re there for them through the sunshine or the rain.
5. Smiling Helps Reduce Blood Pressure
Can you believe that smiling may help reduce blood pressure? Pretty amazing, isn’t it? We already know that smiling triggers our bodies to release cortisol and endorphins that help to lower heart rate and breathing. Although more research is needed to collect exact data, the research generally indicates that smiling helps lower your blood pressure in the face of stress, too.
6. Smiling Helps Increase Endurance
Keep smiling through that tough exercise routine or cross-country run! It will increase your adrenaline and make the challenge seem easier, thus making it feel like you have greater endurance to face the challenge!
7. Smiling Helps Alleviate Pain
Let’s revisit those neurotransmitters again! We already know that studies show smiling impacts the release of endorphins like dopamine and serotonin, plus other natural painkillers. Together, these brain chemicals help make us feel good! These neurotransmitters relax your body and reduce physical pain. Smiling is like a natural drug for physical pain just like it is for depression and stress.
These chemicals can be incredibly powerful and useful for boosting your mental and physical health. In fact, these feel-good chemicals and help improve your overall health, too! And this smiling technique is backed up by science so I encourage you to give it a try!**
**Please do not take physical pain or depression lightly. All physical pain and mental health issues should be taken seriously and patients should seek professional help to receive proper treatment and care.
8. Smiling Boosts the Immune System
This one is very personal to me because autoimmune diseases run in my family! Who knows? Maybe my little Smiley Faces have helped to keep any autoimmune diseases under control!
Smiling can boost your overall health and wellness by helping your immune function work effectively. Researchers believe when you smile, immune function improves because your body is more relaxed (remember those neurotransmitters?)
Thus, in theory, whether you are trying to maintain your overall health and wellness, or strengthen your immune system to prevent illness, KEEP SMILING because it just may help!
9. Smiling Makes You Attractive
People are naturally drawn to others who smile. Naturally, most people also associate smiles with kindness and friendliness — the kind of people they would want to hang around. These combined qualities make a person appear more attractive.
Whereas, negative facial expressions like frowns, scowls, and grimaces work in the opposite manner, pushing people away.
10. Smiling Suggests Success
People are drawn to smiles, but did you know smiling is also something that can bring you more opportunities? Research shows people who smile regularly appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached by others. Smiling is associated with success because it’s one of many positive personality traits.
Try putting on a smile at business appointments and your next job interview — you might find that people react to you differently.
Smiling is also a way to show that you’re ready for success. Employers are drawn to people who are ready for success, so prove to yourself and others that you are a person who keeps smiling because you are successful and ready to take on more!
11. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive
When you smile, your brain focuses on positivity! So the mere act of smiling can change your emotional state. Rather than let your brain hang out with negative thoughts that bring down your mood, keep smiling to let your brain know “Life is good” and you want to remain positive!
Even if sometimes you have to fake a smile, over time your brain will begin to believe you are a positive person, and your smile will become an organic, genuinely positive smile rather than old negative facial expressions.
12. Smiling Can Help You Appear Younger
Your facial muscles are a lot like the muscles everywhere else in your body — without use, they start to lose mass and grow wrinkly! But a genuine big smile uses ALL the face muscles from your forehead to your chin for a full face workout! And this naturally gives you a more youthful look!
The power of a smile also gives you a natural face lift! So instead of going under the knife for a surgical face lift, just try smiling your way through each day! You’ll look younger and feel better! And, you’ll see the benefits as you age.
Who knew the simple action of a SMILE could be so valuable, right?
13. Smiling Makes You Happier
We’ve addressed smiling and neurotransmitters several times in this article, but here we are again! Smiling makes you happier because of the endorphins — also known as feel-good hormones — that are released in your brain when you smile. We get it!
But some people question the relationship between smiling and happiness like they do the chicken and egg question — which comes first? Well, because of the scientific research about our feel-good endorphins, we now know we smile when we’re happy, but we also become happier by smiling!
Therefore, given all we know about the neurotransmitters in our brain, it might be a good idea to keep smiling even when you’re having a rough day because you will likely feel better before long!
NBC News did a great report on how smiling can trick your brain into happiness — and boost your health. As we’ve discussed here, a smile actually generates a powerful reaction in the brain that releases chemicals to boost your health and make your happier. Check it out the article!
14. Smiling Increases Optimism
Check out this short article from the Harvard Health Blog also — I love the title — “If You Are Happy And You Know It…You May Live Longer!” Who can say those words without hearing the tune in your head and wanting to clap your hands??
In the last paragraph of the article, it recommends that you practice SMILING at least once per day…even practicing a half-smile occasionally will help trick your brain into a mindset of optimism! Try it and let me know what you discover!
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1,000 reasons to smile. Be optimistic!
15. “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a SMILE“
This is an awesome quote from Annie. I love it!
You don’t want to leave your house without being fully dressed, do you??
Here’s another favorite quote from Annie about SMILING… “It’s what you wear from ear to ear, and not from head to toe, that matters.” Save these two quotes — they always make me SMILE!
16. Smiling Makes You Look More Trustworthy
Keep on smiling…because smiling makes you look more trustworthy! Just like a great smile is associated with kindness, friendliness, and happiness — a smile is also associated with trustworthiness!
The best kind of smile is a a smile that is relaxed and genuine — people can tell the difference! And if you are relaxed and genuine, people are going to feel like they can trust you! So keep smiling that relaxed and genuine beautiful smile of yours!
17. Smiling is Connected to an Attitude of Gratitude
Have you ever made a personal list of ALL the things you are grateful for? I’ve seen lists that have well over 100 reasons people are grateful! And smiling is directly related to a mindset of gratitude — which is another reason that people live longer and happier lives!
So when are you going to start your Top 100 Reasons to SMILE? It should be easy since you’re going to think of all the things in life you are grateful for — butterflies, a cat’s meow, a rainbow, sunrises, sunsets, friendship, a home cooked meal, fond memories, a child’s wonder, a gentle breeze, flowers, a campfire, grandchildren, kindness, baby animals, newborns, the sound of children laughing, a warm shower, swinging — ARE YOU SMILING YET?
18. Smiling is Just as Important as What You Say
Recently, I was quoted in an article by journalist, Tadeusz Olewicz, on Channels.App. “A warm, welcoming smile goes a long way toward sending a message that you care about the person you are talking to and you respect what they have to say. It helps to put everyone at ease and promote honest communication.”
While the article centered on Customer Service, the concept is applicable to LIFE as well. I was the Customer Service Leader at my school and trained our staff on effective customer service practices. But really, these practices are basic courtesy and kindness skills.
Why Do We Smile?
Just some THINK ABOUTS for you to keep in mind:
- Smiling is an expression of JOY.
- It’s a reflex reaction to pleasant situations.
- The more your smile, the better you feel because it releases endorphins in your brain.
- And you’ll see a measurable reduction in facial muscles and wrinkles as you get older.
Make your SMILE an indicator that you choose joy and happiness every day of your life!
A Positive, Healthy Mindset
Based on everything we know today about mindset, and the many reasons to SMILE more everyday, we now know that smiling can help eliminate your negative emotions and replace them with positive emotions and feelings.
A positive mindset will help you make better decisions, live a happier life, and decrease stress. Happy people naturally smile more. So as you work on your personal growth and maintaining a healthy mindset, remember that your SMILE can have a huge impact on these aspects of your life!
Smile Challenge
Harvey Ball was the man who developed the iconic yellow smiley image. He believed that you could improve the world one smile at a time. So start flexing your smile muscles more often, and try one of these fun Smile Challenges at home or work.
- Post-It-Note Challenge – Write down people, places, or things that make you smile on 10-20 colorful post-it notes. Place the post-it-notes in a variety of places where you’ll see them every morning when you start your day. You can put them around your home, in your car, and at work so you see them everywhere throughout your morning.
- Social Media Smile Collage – Create a smile collage and post it on social media – include your favorite smile, a picture smiling with friends, and a picture of an activity or place that makes you smile. You can also include special pictures that make you want to keep smiling all the time.
- Waiting Challenge – Pay attention to times when you are waiting — maybe in traffic, in line at the grocery store, or in a waiting room. SMILE. And see if others smile back at you.
- 19 Challenge – Scientists have estimated there are 19 types of smile. How many do you have? Take pictures of your different smiles and pay attention to the muscles you are using for those smiles. Explore how many smiles you have. You can also capture smiles of friends, colleagues and family members to explore how many different smiles you can find!
BEST Keep Smiling Quotes
These are some of my favorite keep smiling quotes to inspire you to keep smiling your beautiful SMILE! Watch for a complete article in the future with ALL the BEST KEEP SMILING QUOTES!
“SMILE — it’s free therapy!”
~ Douglas Horton
“Smile is a good reply to the dark world.”
~ Mehmet Murat ildan
“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”
~ Marilyn Monroe
“A smiling face is a beautiful face. A smiling heart is a happy heart.”
~ Dr T P Chia
“A smile is the shortest distance between two people.”
~ Unknown
“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”
~ William Arthur Ward
Final Thoughts: Reasons to Smile More Everyday
When you smile, the whole world smiles with you! More than 50% of people who are greeted with a smile will return a smile.
A quarter of the population says a SMILE is the facial feature they remember the most when meeting people. A beaming SMILE makes you more attractive. Another reason to keep smiling!
If you are not convinced to keep smiling yet, we need to talk! There are soooooo many reasons to keep smiling — and ALL the reasons are POSITIVE and HEALTHY! So come on… SMILE WITH ME, my friends! Let’s enjoy the many health benefits of a smile. You can do this! Practice makes perfect, and eventually your brain will want you to SMILE, too!
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In the book, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, a healer in Bali taught Elizabeth to sit in stillness and smile, allowing the smile to reach inside and consume her full body. You call the good energy with a smile and chase away the bad energy. Guess who has been doing that ever since reading the book? (And I can tell you it works!)
Keep SMILING always, my friends! There are so many reasons to do so!
You also may enjoy these related articles:
- How to Carry Yourself with Confidence: 21 Essential Tips
- 160 Awesome Gratitude Journal Prompts for a New Outlook on Life
- I Get Overwhelmed Easily – What Do I Do?
Love to ALL! ~ Susan
18 Surprising Reasons to Smile Everyday
Did you learn something new about SMILING today? How many times a day do you think you SMILE? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below:) We all grow by sharing with each other!
