No. 2: Smiling

Smiling at someone – or even yourself in the mirror, if there’s no one else around, is an incredible way to lift your mood.

Want to test it out?

• Sit down for a moment and slouch. Really get that slopping seating position where your head is verging on a nodding dog. Yes… that’s it. Now frown. Look really grumpy. Notice how you’re feeling?

Ready for the contrast?

• Sit up as straight as is comfortable for you, lift your chin slightly and scrunch up your eyes tightly for 3 seconds before opening them again – that releases the tension around our eyes, which we need to do before the next bit.
• Now: gently allow the corners of your mouth to turn upwards, ever-so-slightly, then a little bit more. You are now smiling. Not a lame little smirk. We’re talking full-on smiles – teeth and all, if that’s your thing. Smile with your eyes, smile with your mouth. Feel the lift as you do it for a full 60 seconds.
• Now let it go and notice what you notice.

Chances are, you’ll be feeling better. Your face should feel more relaxed, your mood should have lifted and you should be aware that you are generally feeling more positive.

Why Does Smiling Help?

Smiling is fab! It triggers the release of the body’s happy chemicals, which cheer us up. And the great thing is that our body doesn’t care whether it’s a real smile or a fake one. If we do it for 30-60 seconds, the hormones get flooding round the body and the happier feeling grows, so the smile becomes real!
So if you want an instant mood lift, get smiling.

Find someone to smile at! It doesn’t care whether you know them or not – or even whether you like them or not. Smile at them! Make it genuine. And they’ll probably smile back – double whammie of mood lifting!

And if you feel uncomfortable grinning at someone, you can do an invisible smile by making eye contact and thinking about a smile – this makes your eyes smile, without you having to consciously do anything… all the time sending happier hormones running through your body!

In part two, we’ll be covering the second sure-fire technique to give your day an instant lift. And that is….
3 Sure-Fire Techniques To Give Your Day An Instant Lift – Part Three