A Call Back To Simplicity

Two words can make a tough situation bearable and a wonderful event even more enjoyable. They offer an encouraging reminder to stay positive. My Dad would say them before he went out of town, when I was getting ready for a hockey game, and during countless other times that benefited from this beautiful call back to simplicity. When I went to college, I would hear it echoing as a sign-off after most of our phone conversations. The words seem more powerful now than ever.

Keep smiling.

A smile promotes an internal biological reset and a changing of the guard of neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine and cortisol are traded for dopamine and serotonin. Psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach starts most of her guided meditations with the felt sense of a smile. When you encounter a challenging situation, smiling can feel like the last thing you want to do. Our default settings less than subtly suggest an alternative approach that doesn’t always have our best interest in mind. A smile will not immediately change the events thrust upon you, but it will forge a path to positivity in your response to them. That path becomes easier to see when you smile. Smiles also affect your environment. They are contagious as simple but kind reminders. Send one out into the ether and see what happens. It lightens the mood, loosens the tension and reminds us that we are all made of the same things.

(Thanks, Dad.)

CHALLENGE: What made you smile this week? How can you encourage more of these moments? Send your stories to [email protected] and we’ll invite you to our free course, The Power Of A Personal Writing Practice.