Do you want the power to change your mood in an instant?

Smile.

I know it sounds trite.  It may even sound dishonest.

But did you know that smiling actually improves your mood? 

I’m a big fan of smiling.

I remember once shortly after my son was born when I was driving to Denver, Colorado listening to Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends and Influence People”.  

Something Carnegie said stuck out and called to me.

He said that smiling is like a ray of sunshine.  

He discussed how our happiness is contagious, and that even if we don’t feel like smiling, we can become happier by doing so.

At first glance, it sounded like Carnegie was encouraging people to be disingenuous.  Still, I became more liberal with my smiles from then on; I hoped to share joy with people around me… and I really wanted my son to feel the comfort children have when their parents are happy.

I then began incorporating smiling into my meditations.

When I would get stressed, anxious, frustrated by temper tanturms, or even when I felt self-conscious or self-critical, I’d close my eyes, smile, tell myself I’m safe and beautiful, and my mood would almost instantaneously change.

A few weeks ago, something horrible happened.  I attended a wedding with my family and lost my faith in my business and my life as I was criticised constantly during the family trip to Florida.

When I came home, my stomach was bloated (likely due to Sacral Chakra trauma or past traumas being unearthed), my face broke out in horrific acne, and I felt depressed, tired, irritable, and distraught about everything.

I don’t let the blues get to me and have always been fantastic and bouncing out of dark times, but this darkness seemed to last for weeks.  I couldn’t get back on track; I was traveling for work every week and feeling very codependent, giving so much more to others than to myself.

The pinnacle of this dark time was when I attended a meditation and yoga retreat in Moab, Colorado.  My acne was so bad that I couldn’t smile without tearing the skin on my cheek. So I didn’t smile. I grinned a little, but I was in pain inside and out.

After many hours in yoga and meditation, my mind and spirit started to transform.  I felt myself smiling more on the last day of the retreat than I had in weeks. It occured to me that I hadn’t been smiling much because of the acne or because of my traumatic family experience.

Suddenly, a switch went off and I saw how inseparable my smile is from my happiness.  It’s not only the outward sign of my inner peace, but it’s a muscular trigger for increased happiness and freedom from anxiety.

I began digging into research about how smiling lessens pain, triggers happy hormonal responses in your brain, and even causes feelings of happiness.  

If you’re having a hard day, you wear the pain on your face with a pout or frown.

However, if your day has been equally challenging but you respond with a smile, you actually use muscles in your face that trigger the response of dopamine in your brain.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter for your brain’s reward and pleasure centers; the more dopamine something triggers, the more happiness your body feels. 

It’s your body’s reward center response, allowing you to feel bliss and euphoria.

Being unable to physically smile for a few weeks, I learned about how important smiling is to my own personal happiness.

If you’re feeling discouraged or even depressed, put a smile on your face.

Don’t worry about being disingenuous; you will feel increased peace and happiness by this beautiful, contagious gift the Universe designed for us to feel and share our inner peace and joy.

Watch today’s free video on how to increase peace, joy, and heal past traumas from within; regardless of circumstance.