The Key to Happiness, Smiling More?

A Nudge in the Right Direction

A kind friend recently helped to change my perspective with a little nudge in the right direction. He told me to stop thinking of myself as a negative person. “Everyone has negative thoughts and feelings at times, but it doesn’t make you a negative person,” he reassured me.

It’s possible that my mindset was actually limiting me and keeping me trapped in those cycles of cynicism. Because I knew (or assumed) myself to be a “negative person” it was only natural to have those thoughts and I passively allowed them to grow instead of inspecting them and weeding them out.

From a Nudge to a Shift

My intention for this month and possibly the next few months is to try and shift that mindset. Although I want to stop brooding in melancholy, I also recognize that the synapses of my mind have been trained over and over to behave this way through years of repetition.

One small moment of clarity doesn’t make a change. It takes a focused shift in attitude and behaviors to create new healthier, more positive ways of thinking and behaving.

So I’m going to start small. I’m going to smile more.

Crows Feet and Furrowed Brows

The other day I looked at my mother and realized she was starting to form small frown lines around the corners of her mouth. She’s aging and sometimes those minute changes in her face, the texture of her skin, the silver of her hair go unnoticed. But this small crease struck me. I realized that she doesn’t have any smile lines or crows feet around her eyes, but she has tiny wrinkles by her mouth and marks of furrowing her face between her brow.

Of course, I love my mother and appreciate her beauty as she’s aging. I admire her for her strength, her hard work ethic, and her kindness.

But I also wish she would worry less and smile more. I wish I would smile more.

In that moment glancing at my mother, I saw myself reflected in her face. I don’t want to regret not smiling more. Not appreciating the tiny moments of joy.

A Smile an Hour Gives You … Power?

So my goal is to smile (at least) once every hour. To take a moment and smile amidst the mundane, boring, and busy tasks of my workday.

My hope is that by doing this, by consciously reminding myself to take a moment and smile, I will become more grateful, appreciative and happy.

Let’s see how it goes!