Recently
I came across a wonderful video on “The hidden Power of smiling” by Ron Gutman.
http://mylifeyoga.com/2012/08/11/the-hidden-power-of-smiling/
It
was an amazing talk on the power of smiling. He revealed some stunning facts in
that talk.
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One single smile can generate the same level of brain stimulants as
finding $25,000 or upto 2000 bars of chocolate
§
Most adults smile about 20 times a day while children smile more than 400
times a day.
§
Studies show that even unborn children smile most of the time in the womb.
§
Smiling reduces stress hormone levels and increases the levels of
stimulants, while also reducing blood pressure.
§
The fullness of a smile in a picture has been shown to be an accurate
predictor of longevity, success, and well-being.
Living in a jet age as such, we struggle juggling between
too many things. Managing the kids around, cleaning the house, getting
groceries…… we are always on the run. Lives can be busy at times and slow and boring at other moments. It's so easy to get caught up in everyday
life that we forget how a simple thing like smiling takes so little effort and time.
Actually, there isn’t any great art behind smiling. We are all born to be happy, and we can show this happiness with that beautiful smile of ours. When you walk into a fun party where everyone is smiling and
laughing, it's easy to get into the high spirit of the occasion. On the other hand, when
you walk into a room where frowns are predominant, it's equally easy to start
feeling a little lower in spirit. All it takes to uplift the mood in this room
is to remember to smile away instantly without even blinking an eye! A smile is
not something that you would like to save and store to be given sometime in the
future! Use it when it is badly needed.
But
a point to be noted here. All smiles are not genuine. Sadly sometimes we have to
fake a smile. Of course not in the bad sense of the term. To put it mildly it
can be called a 'polite smile.' These smiles are generated by the conscious brain and can be
performed at will. A smile which we show when we meet some strangers in the
elevators, our next seat neighbor in the flight, the person standing behind us
in the payment counter at the grocery store.... are all this kind of polite smiles. Genuine smiles, on the
other hand, are generated by the unconscious brain and so are automatic.
Is
it possible for us to distinguish between a genuine smile and a fake one? I came across this quick interactive quiz from BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/) to test out your ability to spot the
difference between a real smile and a fake one. Please do take this test
without fail. Its fun. It tells you how good you are at finding out the fake
smile from a genuine one.
Real smile and fake smile apart, have you heard about ‘invisible smile’?
Read this story on..
Mr. Menon was an old grouch, and everyone in town knew it. Kids
knew not to go into his yard to pick a yummy apple, even off the ground,
because old Menon, they said, would come
after you with his gun.
One day, 12 year old Annie was going to stay all night with her friend Priya. They had to walk by Menon’s house on the way to Priya's house, but as they got close Annie saw him sitting on his front porch and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children, she was scared of Mr. Menon because of the stories she'd heard about him.
Priya said not to worry, Mr. Menon wouldn't hurt anyone. When they got close enough, Menon looked up with his usual frown, but when he saw it was Priya, a broad smile changed his entire countenance as he said, "Hello Miss Priya. I see you've got a little friend with you today."
Priya smiled back and told him Annie was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Menon told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted, Menon had the best apples in town.
When they got out of Menon's earshot, Annie asked Priya, "Everyone says he's the meanest man in town. How come he was he so nice to us?"
Priya explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn't very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a "hello" at first, then more. She said he always offers her an apple now, and is always very kind.
"An invisible smile?" questioned Annie.
"Yes," answered Priya, "my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn't afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, that sooner or later he really would smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious."
If as per Priya's grandma, every one of us wears an invisible smile, we too will find that even grouchy person like Mr Menon can't resist reciprocating it after a while. JOne day, 12 year old Annie was going to stay all night with her friend Priya. They had to walk by Menon’s house on the way to Priya's house, but as they got close Annie saw him sitting on his front porch and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children, she was scared of Mr. Menon because of the stories she'd heard about him.
Priya said not to worry, Mr. Menon wouldn't hurt anyone. When they got close enough, Menon looked up with his usual frown, but when he saw it was Priya, a broad smile changed his entire countenance as he said, "Hello Miss Priya. I see you've got a little friend with you today."
Priya smiled back and told him Annie was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Menon told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted, Menon had the best apples in town.
When they got out of Menon's earshot, Annie asked Priya, "Everyone says he's the meanest man in town. How come he was he so nice to us?"
Priya explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn't very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a "hello" at first, then more. She said he always offers her an apple now, and is always very kind.
"An invisible smile?" questioned Annie.
"Yes," answered Priya, "my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn't afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, that sooner or later he really would smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious."
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