Scientifically speaking, smiling is one of the best things you can do to improve your emotional wellbeing and disposition on a regular basis. And the best part -- it’s free. Smiling releases endorphins and neurotransmitters that actually, chemically speaking, put you in a better mood. Plus if you are of the lazy persuasion, according to Garfield, smiling takes less muscles then frowning so technically you're getting more for your buck when you smile.
Now that we've ascertained that smiling is good for you, let’s discuss how to motivate your cheek muscles to cooperate with the plan. But fair warning, I’m not one of those optimistic, always see the glass half full people so I'm not going to give you tips like “You can find the good in every situation, if you just look.” Though some call me a pessimist, I personally consider myself a realist, therefore my advice may turn you into a bit of a snide person. But no worries, I’ve had a lifetime of experience and its fun.
Now, I’m not going to tell you to make fun of people, per se, because that's not nice and doesn't promote good will towards others and I’m all for promoting good will towards others. What I will say is that people are funny and if you pay attention, people tend to be entertaining. So when you see something, even if no one else sees it -- laugh. Why not? It'll brighten your day and because laughing is contagious people will laugh with you and you’ll brighten their day as well. You know that joke with the elephants in the bathtub with the punch line that purposely doesn't make any sense? You say “No soap radio,” and then laugh uproariously to see if those around you will join in the laughter even though you know that they don't get the joke.
Even though people usually call others out for laughing without reason in a condescending way, it's a good thing. For example if you're playing a sports game, and you're losing terribly, you're most likely not going to be in the best mood. So when you or a teammate makes an error you can kick yourself and become upset or you can just laugh because if you think about it, it is comical. You traveled a far distance, prepared for a game and now you're losing; basically all hope is lost. But the same way that you get super excited about anything positive that happens at that point you should also laugh at someone falling flat on their face when going for a pop fly.
Not laughing at the person, rather at the occurrence. Or if you're sitting on a bus and you see someone taking a drink at the exact moment the bus hits a massive pot hole and they spill it all over themselves, you shouldn't guffaw in their face -- but it's funny and chuckling to yourself will brighten your day. And if you offer them some help with that left over smile, chances are you'll brighten their day as well.
If you think about it, there’s an entire industry based on finding the funny in life. America's Funniest Home Videos is a TV show that is completely made up of these kinds of incidents. The videos are sent in by people like you and me who saw something funny and were lucky enough to record it for posterity. We laugh at these videos and they put us in a better mood. Some people say, “You’ll laugh about it later.” I say, “Why not laugh about it now?"
