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Article published on LinkedIn.com: Jan. 31, 2024
30_Smile_En.pdf
CAN A SMILE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Your smile has the power to light up a room
and connect with people without saying a single word. They say
a picture is worth a thousand words, but I like to say a smile
is worth a thousand words. Happiness, optimism, and love to
name a few.
Many things can be resolved with a smile.
You can break down barriers, automatically put someone at
ease, express your cheerful mood, convey confidence, and
thousands of other actions, feelings, and emotions.
Not only can a smile improve your mood and
that of those around you, but it also increases your
likability and has tremendous health benefits.
Many see smiling simply as an involuntary
response to things that bring you joy or make you laugh.
While this is certainly true, it overlooks
an important point: smiling can be a conscious and intentional
choice.
Whether your smile is genuine or not, it can
affect your body and mind in a variety of positive ways,
providing benefits for your health, your mood, and even the
mood of those around you.
1.
Smiling helps you live longer:
perhaps the most
compelling reason to smile is that it can lengthen your
overall lifespan. Overall, happy people seem to enjoy better
health and longevity.
Maintaining a happy and positive mood can be an important part of a
healthy lifestyle.
2.
Smiling reduces stress:
stress can permeate our entire
being and it can really show on our faces. Smiling not only
helps prevent us from looking tired, exhausted, and
overwhelmed, not only it can actually help reduce stress.
Believe it or not, smiling can reduce stress even if you don't feel like
smiling or even if you fake it with an insincere smile.
When you're stressed, take time to smile. You and those around you will
reap the benefits.
3.
A smile lifts the mood:
next time you're feeling down, try smiling. Chances are
your mood will improve.
The physical act of smiling actually activates pathways in your brain
that influence your emotional state, which means that by
adopting a happy facial expression, you can
« trigger
» your mind into a state of happiness.
This is true whether your smile is real or not. Think of smiling as a
natural antidepressant.
4.
Smiling is contagious: how many times have you heard
that a smile has the power to light up the room?
While it's certainly a beautiful sentiment, it contains a hint of truth.
Smiling not only has the ability to uplift your mood, but it
can also change other people's moods for the better.
Your brain automatically notices and interprets other people's facial
expressions and sometimes you can even imitate them.
This means you might notice someone else's smile and unknowingly smile at
you.
Yes, it's scientifically proven that smiling is contagious.
5.
Smiling stimulates the immune
system:
smiling can also
improve your overall health by helping your immune system work
more efficiently.
It is believed that when you smile, immune
function improves because you are more relaxed due to the
release of certain neurotransmitters.
6.
Smiling can lower blood
pressure:
smiling could have
a beneficial impact on your blood pressure.
Laughter specifically appears to lower blood pressure,
after causing an initial increase in heart rate and breathing.
7.
Smiling decrease pain:
studies have shown that
smiling releases endorphins, other natural pain relievers, and
serotonin.
Together, these brain chemicals make us feel great, from, head to toe.
Not only do they improve your mood, but they also relax
your body and reduce physical pain.
Smiling is natural medicine.
8.
Smiling makes you attractive:
we are naturally
drawn, to smiling people.
While harsher or negative, facial expressions like frowns and grimaces
work in the opposite direction, effectively repelling people,
smiling is seen as more attractive, and people may even assume
you have more positive personality traits, if you smile.
Not only smiling can make you more attractive, not only it can also make
you look younger.
The muscles we use to smile also lift the face making a person look
younger.
So instead of opting for a facelift, try smiling
throughout the day, you'll look younger and feel better.
9.
A smile suggests success:
research has shown that people
who smile regularly appear more confident are more likely to
be promoted, and more likely to be approached.
Try to
smile at meetings and business appointments. You might find
that people react differently to you.
Remember that smiling can influence your feelings of
positivity, even if it seems unnatural or forced.
Whether your smile is genuine or not, it always sends the
message that life is beautiful to your brain and, ultimately,
to the rest of your body!
There are far more details to assimilate and cannot be
expended in a simple article. I suggest that you explore
chapter 10 of the book
« My success is your success. »
How someone approaches ethics is fundamentally tied, to whom
they are as a person. If a person has good morals, it is
because of his virtues and his ethics.
Whether you are a parent, spouse, student, small business
owner, worker, civil servant, politician, or professional such
as a doctor, engineer, lawyer, good character is essential to
successful relationships.
To understand what constitutes a moral character, you must
understand the meaning of ethics, which involves moral
principles or values.
The decisions you make on a daily basis can have a positive or
negative impact on many people.
To develop good moral character, an individual must analyze
the consequences of exercising bad moral character and perform
actions that are ethically correct.
If there is no trust between you and your family, at work or
socially, miscommunication, dishonesty, conflicts can arise.
An untrustworthy person keeps you in doubt while a trustworthy
person reassures you.
For example, if a person lies about a particular situation, it
puts you on your guard and soon you find yourself doubting
everything they say. Because of his dishonesty, you are now
questioning his moral character.
This also applies to how you treat others. If someone doesn't
trust you, they probably won't, for example, commit to doing
business with you.
If you demonstrate a sound moral character towards your
relationships and treat them with respect, you are likely to
retain their respect and high regard. The people who talk to
you should also have these traits. For example, if your ethics
are sound, but an employee disrespect or lies to your
customers, it will be difficult to build customer loyalty.
Specifically, getting customers through decent prices and
quality products can be easy, but how you serve those
customers will determine whether you'll retain them. This also
applies to employees, your family, and friends. If you treat
them well, they are more likely to stay with you.
Individuals with a strong moral character have a high degree
of certainty about their actions. They have, in mind, a
clearly recognized objective and the methods necessary to
achieve these objectives. Anxiety and nervousness are concepts
that are foreign to them.
Moreover, people with a strong moral character chart their own
path to success and never waste time contemplating unnecessary
topics. Such individuals do not invent excuses to cover their
backs.
A strong moral character is also instrumental in developing
effective leadership qualities. They are visionary with a «
can do » attitude.
They tackle the impossible, face problems and obstacles
head-on, and make decisions that position them successfully
for the future.
Humility is another trait possessed by people with strong
moral character. They put aside their egos and self-interests
and strive to work in ways that achieve the highest good for
all.
Even if they fail or partially succeed in their endeavor, they
are not deterred from achieving their goals and instead pursue
them with even greater vigor.
People with strong moral character also become positive role
models for others. They set the benchmark for excellence and
their lives become an inspiration to others.
This is so because those who form a strong moral character
conscientiously adhere to moral values through their actions
and personal conduct and do not resort to a pompous and
contrived style.
Simply put, moral character is perhaps best described as the
set of dispositions or characteristics of a person that play a
role in how the person, morally speaking, behaves. Moral
character is therefore the edifice on which an individual's
personal identity rests.
It is our moral character that determines who we are and what
actions we take.
You might wonder why it's not always easy to admit a mistake,
to persevere in difficult times, or to keep every promise you
make. It is not always comfortable to convey the hard truth or
to defend one's convictions.
In the short term, it may not be beneficial to distance
yourself from a questionable relationship. But, in the long
run, doing the right thing is the clear path to success and
happiness. Morality matters!
There are far more details to assimilate and cannot be
expended in a simple article. I suggest that you explore
chapter 12 of the book
« My success is your success. »
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This book is the result of forty years
of experience acquired with local and international
organizations and companies and during consultancy,
change management, transition and marketing services.
This 404-page
personal development book was published by WebTech
Publishing and is available online in English, North
American French and European versions. For more
information and to view the flip book, visit
webtechPublishing.
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About the Author
Decelles
Other publications:
ISO Pour Tous
– Le manuel
d’information ISO – Le guide de préparation ISO – La
gestion du changement en affaires – La gestion de
projet d’affaires – Le
changement POUR TOUS –
Change your future,
now! – Mon succès est votre succès.
Press Contact
Germain Decelles, o.s.j.
WebTech Management et Publication Incorpored
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