PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE...

This week, I want to talk about why it’s so important to put a smile on your face. I know it probably sounds a cliché, but smiling genuinely makes a difference. When you smile, your mood instantly lifts, and everything around you seems brighter and life a little lighter.

Life usually throws challenges our way, like we’re just lurching from crisis to crisis. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. At these moments, it feels very difficult and fake to smile, especially on really tough days.  However, during these times, it’s essential to constantly remind yourself of the power of smiling. 

You have to find something, no matter how small, that's worth smiling about, whether it’s noticing the sun shining brightly, or just recalling a nice memory. It's really incredible, isn’t it? How can such a small and simple gesture like this shift both your and others’ perspectives? 

For example, have you ever noticed how a smile is contagious? When you smile at someone, they often smile back. Smiling spreads warmth in a second and is a silent way of making others feel special. Smiling at someone, or receiving a smile from someone, is a beautiful human exchange.

Here are some examples:

- Try to start your day every morning with a smile to yourself in the mirror, as not only does it set a positive tone and energise you, you’re then more ready to face whatever the day brings. - Try to always greet colleagues with a smile, as it provides you with a pleasant atmosphere. Or surprise a stranger with a smile, as it turns an ordinary moment into something special to be remembered.  - Or if you’re stuck in traffic in the car, try to smile at the driver of the car next to you, or if waiting for a bus, try smiling at another person also waiting, as it eases the mutual tension and may result in a smile back.

But smiling is not a surefire remedy, or cure-all. For some people, the pressure to smile may feel inauthentic. People may smile through politeness or social expectation, rather than from genuine warmth. Relying on smiling may also oversimplify challenges. Focusing on outward expressions, like smiling, sometimes masks true feelings. 

So, this week, try to smile more.  Go on, try it, put a smile on your face and see what happens. Whether it brightens your day, or someone else's, it's worth it. As I heard someone say once, if you see somebody without a smile, give them one of yours!