I Smile First

You’re walking down the street. A stranger is walking down the sidewalk in your direction. Your eyes meet for a moment. Do you look away hurriedly? Most people do. Do you wait to see if the other person smiles or shows you some other emotion?

I smile first.

Smiling is contagious. It can help reduce your level of stress.

Smiles are a more powerful mood enhancer than chocolate, says Ron Gutman in his Ted talk.

Babies smile in the womb, Ron says. And the span of a baseball player’s smile in his baseball card photo can be a predictor for the length of his career. Bigger smile = longer career.

For me, I’m countering the negativity. I’m hoping it will help rejig my brain. Fake it ’til you make it.

Smile first and pass it on.