Date Posted: 6/6/2013 6:19:19 AM
Posted By: BrianL7 Membership Level: Gold Total Points: 2289
We all smile at least once in our lives. I say at least once with the belief that every single one of us has had an experience where you had to smile. The good thing about a smile is the fact that one can tell if it is genuine or a bootleg version of an actual smile. It comes from within and that is where all our emotions are. As human beings, we have no idea how to hide our emotions, no matter how hard we try and how much effort we put in, we are just as bad as a fox hiding in a herd of sheep. Yes, it is that obvious.Well a smile may seem like a trivial matter to look at, but have you ever wondered what the effects are, to ourselves and also to people around us? Have you ever thought maybe, just maybe, it is something more than just showing your good set of teeth and your dimples (for those who were blessed with both) and widening your eyes? If you have not thought about it, I am telling you today that you have to at the very least give it a slight thought.So I did the awesome thing of actually giving it a thought. I won’t lie to you, I had not thought about it until my girlfriend asked me to write an article about it and I was questioning her sanity for a split second until it dawned on me, oh yeah, she does have a point I have indeed never thought of this, I should research on it. And research I indeed did. And no doubt I brought you information from all the corners of the earth. Yeah, I know that the earth is round with no corners, but you get my point and that matters.I used to have a classmate back in high school who was known as “the smiling machine”. Do you want to know why? Because he had a machine that made smiles. Okay, fine, it is because he smiled so much we thought the guy never had any other emotion. He smiles even when things go wrong for him. It is probably because he had traveled the world and seen the value of smiles long before we had. We being the writer( which is I) and you the reader.So let us embark on this journey together and find out if smiles are indeed something worth doing, if they are contagious like the plagues that mankind has faced and conquered and still fights today or if they are something much more different and complex all together.I will tell you of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, she once said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” This is because she knew the power of a simple smile and she went out of her way to smile.It’s amazing that your simple smile can brighten someone’s day in a moment’s notice. Too often we underestimate the power of a smile. Although it may be considered the smallest act of caring and it takes little or no effort on our part, it has the power to turn a life around. Like the ripple effect of a pebble tossed into a pond, your smile will spread far beyond the first person who receives it. You never know how many people will benefit because you smiled first. The saying is after all,” be the change you would like to see in the world.”And if you think that Mother Teresa is the only one who thought of smiling in this way then you are sorely mistaken. Les Giblin—renowned lecturer and author of the well-known book Skill with People, said, “If you’re not using your smile, you’re like a man with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook.” That means that you have so much wealth with you but you have no idea how to use it. What is the point in that?You may be wondering of how you can be intentional about smiling or how you can seem sincere about it well I have a few tips that you may use and that will work just perfectly when you become a natural. Like when someone smiles at you, smile back. I always wonder why people don’t smile at me when I smile at them. The more you smile, the easier it gets. But, don’t give them the sinister kind of smile that seems like you are going to cause them any harm, remember that you are spreading a smile, not anxiety.Another thing you can do is smile when you answer your phone. People can hear the difference in your voice, and it can produce positive results. Most of the time I am receiving calls from clients as I am working on my business most of them asking me how the business is and all of the time asking me how they can be a part of it. For the first few days into the business, I lost the prospective clients because I failed to smile on picking up the phone and then I tried a new strategy and voila! Results. I was able to acquire 5 clients in the first week and that is a huge turn around for any business.Do you know why the clients this time round had a change of heart? It is because smiling makes others feel welcome, special, and appreciated. So when you are with your friends, family, and coworkers be aware of your demeanor. Your demeanor says a lot about you and that is how people identify you.I know it may seem like work to smile even when you are not in the mood or the circumstance does not allow but it is all in your head. If you think positively about yourself and others, through that mind-set, smiling will come more naturally. It will not be artificial or with any parts that do not belong.Another fascinating thing about smiling is the health effects it has on a person. It reduces stress. It may seem like that is a fallacy or a Ballard that has long since been proven fictitious but I can tell you it is a fact. Did you know that stress could actually appear on your face? Yes, surprisingly true. It wrinkles up your face and makes you appear older than you really are. Who wants that?A few other interesting facts I gathered up are quite something that I did not even know until the time of writing this article. Did you know that 55 % of all communication is nonverbal? 55%! That is more than half, just so you know 100% is the full value. A large majority of communication is in facial expressions. This is according to A. Barbour, author of Louder than Words. It sounds like another story huh? Considering it came from another human being. But try this, on your daily routine, count the number of times you speak and compare them with the number of times you show facial expression. And then give me a call. Here is my number 072…. (You know I am going to use my better judgment and not put it here)Another fact that I found interesting here is that 72% of people think of those who smile frequently as being more confident and successful. And whose identity is being built here? The person who people are thinking of mostly. The more that happens the more you will think of yourself successfully and the more successful you will become.Have you ever wondered why some people are just good with making friends? Even the most utter strangers of them all? Well according to a statistic 86% of people say that they are more likely to strike up conversations with strangers if they are smiling. Now isn’t that something worth thinking of? You want to make strangers become friends, put on a smile today and you will see the difference. But please be a good judge of character, I wouldn’t want you to end up befriending a terrorist.Knowing that people will remember you, like you more, and be more comfortable with you in conversation, I challenge you to become intentional using your smile to positively impact the people around you. Make it your goal to become the person who is known for your smile. That is a better way to be known than to be known as the “gloomy stranger”.The smile you pass on today will have the ripple effect that will spread beyond your family, your friends, and your community. It will improve the outlook of others, and it will help you win the affection and friendship of others. Now tell me which person hate to have friends. If you do find this person please do me the favor of calling me on my line 07… almost gave it away again.A smile a day keeps the gloom away.
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