When fear, worry and doubt strike, what do you do?

Do you fall into old patterns? Say nasty, angry things?

There is a simple solution that can help you break habits and routines when you get triggered.

Turn up the corners of your mouth. Yep, that’s right. Smile.

A simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being. In the Ted Talk by Ron Gutman: The Hidden Power of Smiling (see below), he talks about how smiling can help reduce the level of stress enhancing hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and dopamine, increase the level of mood enhancing hormones like endorphin, and reduce overall blood pressure. One smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2000 bars of chocolate!

Some recognized traits of a smile:

• Smiling makes you more attractive and approachable.

• An applicant at a job interview who smiles throughout emanates an air of confidence, rendering them more naturally hirable than their frowning counterpart.

• Even if you’re in a bad mood, faking a smile will often turn your mood around enough to authenticate it.

Often, a smile at a stranger will warrant a smile in return. And that simple act of connection could spark a chain reaction.

Mother Teresa said, “Every time you smile at someone it is an act of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”     {Tweet it!}

When faced with fears, worries and doubts, curl both sides of your mouth upward, and bring your cheeks up to your eyes. Notice how it affects your mood. Notice how it affects the mood of those around you.

Don’t expect that you won’t feel fear, but become more familiar with it and don’t let it get the best of you.

The essence of bravery is the ability to walk right through your fear, and by doing so with a smile you will break the habit of reacting to fear with anger.

Turn towards fear, face fear, and smile at fear.

Check out the Ted Talk by Ron Gutman: The Hidden Power of Smiling: 

[ted id=1143]