Is Smiling Good for You?

For some reason there have been a few articles about smiling recently. We all do it from time to time (don’t we?), but for most of us a smile isn’t our natural – or first choice – expression.

A Smile Will Win Over Anyone?

One  article I nearly didn’t read was a article entitled “physician job search tips“, which isn’t an arresting title for non physicians.

However, as the author had used a “smilie” to illustrate his “tip seven” it caught my eye:-

“Enthusiasm. Bring an absolutely positive attitude without being too familiar. Negativism is not allowed. Sell yourself. The difference between bragging and self confidence is enthusiasm.
Smile. A genuine heart warming smile can win over anyone…whether you interview for physician jobs or not.”

The difference between bragging (or arrogance?)  and self confidence is enthusiasm? I think there is a lot of truth in that. And the advice, like most  of of the other tips, applies whether you are going for a job interview or going into work at a job you’ve been doing for many years.

So much of self confidence comes through our body language and attitude. If you look sharp, you can feel sharp. And as the article says:-

“erect posture shows confidence.”

But can a “heart warming smile” win over anyone? Is that in itself the most important aspect of body language to get right. In one of my very early (and very short!) posts I came up with this quote:-

Have you ever tried to smile and think of a negative thought? Usually the result is that one of the feelings will win out.

Try it and see! Basically humans cannot hold attention on more than one thought at a time – if you sit in front of a TV reading a newspaper, your attention flicks between the two, it doesn’t attend to both at the same time. Smiling is important because of the effect it has on you, as much as those around you.

Is Smiling Good for You?

Another recent post suggests there is evidence that smiling is good for you.  On Why is Smiling Good for You Dr Amanda Grant Smith kicks off with:-

The act of smiling itself has been shown to be good for one’s health. Simply changing your expression to a smile or mimicking another’s smile can cause involuntary biological changes just like those induced by emotions.

She goes on to say that looking at other peoples smiles causes positive chemical changes in our brain, plus:-

Research has also revealed that smiling can lower blood pressure, release natural painkillers called endorphins, increase serotonin (a target of antidepressant drugs) and reduce stress.

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Mother Teresa

How to Smile?

On Hani Al-Qasem’s Confidence blog he has gone as far as encouraging you to start smiling as a confidence boosting exercise:-

The amazingly, exceptionally easy method to raise your self confidence is putting a wide smile on your face, and keeping it there for as long as you can.

Start with 10 seconds, move up to 20 seconds, up to a minute and so on. You immediately feel the difference. Try it. Do it now! And feel the surge of self confidence.

And why not?  As he suggests, linking that deliberate smile with a memory of doing something well or something you are proud of has a few things going for it:-

1) Its free

2) Its very simple to do

3) It works

What I have suggested within my post on “how to look confident“, we seldom stop and think how we look every day.  Do we slouch, look at the ground as we walk – or go around with a grim, surly expression?

Do you look confident? If I spotted you are a social gathering, what would your body language say – “Go away, I don’t want to be here” or “Come and meet me”?

Making the effort to smile isn’t difficult. What is slightly  harder is changing your everyday habit so that a smile becomes your default setting.

Is smiling good for self confidence? I doubt if anyone would disagree that it can hardly hurt, and will probably do a lot of  good. So why not try? Compared with trying to change your thinking habits, its simple!

Photos by mereco,  jelene and mao_lini on Flickr

Tagged as: appearance, body language, confidence, self esteem, self-confidence, smile, smiling