The Power of Smiling
Smiling, it’s a simple act we rarely think about when going about our daily lives. But the truth is every time we flash a smile, we send a message to the world. The act of smiling is fascinating because it is 100% original. According to Forbes, around 30% of adults smile more than 20 times daily, and 14% smile less than 5 times daily. On the other hand, children smile as much as 400 times per day, making it their superpower.
A 2010 study by Wayne State University examined the baseball card photos of Major League players in 1952. The study found that the width of a player’s smile could predict the length of his life! They shared that players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years, while players with beaming, broad smiles lived an average of 79.9 years.
Cultural Benefits of Smiling
The benefits of smiling aren’t limited to only those that smile – it also affects those around you. Smiling impacts productivity and boosts energy, creativity, and focus. For those in front-facing positions who interact with members, visitors, and regular attendees, smiling helps to put people at ease, sets a positive tone, generates warmth and welcome, and is inviting – which, in turn, encourages people to be more engaged. All this gives a good first impression and builds stronger relationships.
For leaders smiling is often the key to success and can impact the culture. People tend to favor volunteers and staff that smile regularly. When training or onboarding, it’s important to establish trust and credibility, which doesn’t come easy these days. Smiling can help and is known to increase cooperation.
Feel-good benefits aside, smiling has been proven to positively affect an organization’s overall performance. Health.org shared a team of economists found that “positive emotions appear to invigorate human beings, while negative emotions have the opposite effect.” This study linked decision-making, processing, and learning to the dopamine release triggered by happiness, affecting how people, teams, and the entire organization interact, perform, and deliver.
10 Tips for Smiling More
- Practice – As you read this, put on a big toothy smile. Try not to fake it. Think of someone you adore. Someone who warms your heart and you can talk with for hours. I know it’s hard not to smile.
- Smile through adversity – This time, think of something difficult, unhappy, or negative and try to smile while thinking about it. It takes practice but learning to smile during difficult situations can help decrease negative feelings and bring a more positive approach.
- Try and smile every time you think of smiling.
- Think of your favorite memories, places, people, activities, and pets. These are a good start to get you smiling.
- Take a deep breath when you smile. This reduces stress, promotes joy, and increases smiling.
- Use post-it notes, a reminder on your phone, an email message, or a calendar entry to remind you to smile more. Do this often, and it will soon become a habit.
- Smile at someone you don’t know or are passing by. This will help smiling become automatic.
- Try laughing. It is the next step up from smiling and has many health benefits too.
- Make meetings and everyday activities fun! This will give you something to look forward to, which always increases smiling.
- If you work with a team, encourage them to smile. Smiling is contagious; you can help each other by learning to smile.
A smile, it’s a powerful tool with benefits. Everyone has one, and it’s free. It can do wonders for your organization. Maximizing smiling can take things to the next level, increase joy, and raise volunteer and staff commitment, loyalty, and success.
Keep smiling!
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Sources:
www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2011/03/22/the-untapped-power-of-smiling
www.sclhealth.org/blog/2019/06/the-real-health-benefits-of-smiling-and-laughing
https://blog.deliveringhappiness.com/
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-smile-more-for-health-happiness-and-longevity-2224116
Abel, E. L., & Kruger, M. L. (2010). Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610363775
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
