Serendipity strikes!
This morning as I was looking for the weather report on TV, I happened upon Carole King singing “You’ve got to get up every morning with a smile on your face and show the world all the love in your heart . . . “
What a lovely way to start a day— seeing Carole King singing was like seeing an old friend. She doesn’t know me, of course, but it’s hard for me to hear that song and hear her imperfect voice and not relax into a smile.
It reminded me of what a career coaching client had said to me recently. Commuting to work one day, she was overcome with what had become an increasingly familiar feeling of dissatisfaction. She had been wanting to quit her current job, but for various reasons, she felt she could not.
Instead, she was actively working on identifying changes she could make in her work and in her life that might increase her job satisfaction.
This particular day had not started out well—she was caught up in heavy traffic and was going to be late to work. Feeling tense, she was mentally sorting through self-calming strategies. What came to mind was her recent resolve to smile more-- at random moments but especially when she was feeling low.
So she smiled.
And she was incredulous at how her spirits lifted. Surprised, she said that she laughed out loud.
Smiles have long been praised, in song and in adage, but only recently has the science of positive psychology offered studies that suggest the mood-altering power of a smile.
Studies have produced some interesting results. One study followed the lives of women who had a crinkly-eyed, happy smile in a particular group photograph. It turned out that the smile had been a strong predictor of the individual’s future happiness.
While it seems reasonable that one often shows happiness by smiling, what is surprising, at least to me, is that smiling can affect one’s mood and allow a person to feel happier.
I write today just to tell you that my client was better able to face her day with a smile on her face.
And that Carole King had it right.
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