Cheesy Smiling Actually Helps

Great, great, great book! 

After reading Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project" I have been looking up different ways to help boost my happiness. I want to share one of these tips I learned recently and that has actually helped me out during the past couple of weeks.

Warning: This tip is kind of cheesy. (And I don't mean this in the literal sense, although, pizza sure does sound delicious right now.)

I read in a magazine somewhere, and I can't remember where (so, sorry about that), that when you're feeling down you should smile as widely as you possibly can for at-least thirty Mississippi seconds and you'll feel WAY better! The actual act of smiling promotes good happy feelings and smiling as widely as you possibly can for half a minute actually helps out a lot. 

Now, sometimes I'm in a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE mood and simply just don't want to do this because I think it's dumb, but then I force myself and it really does work. Like, I'll be driving my in car, angry and/or frustrated, and I make myself do this. I smile super widely and count One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi... and I honestly do feel better. 

Yep. Like this. 

Now, it doesn't completely wipe out the bad feelings, but it definitely lessens them. And then I usually end up laughing at the ridiculous expression on my face (which I can't see, but I can certainly imagine) and that also makes me feel lighter. Better. Happier. 

Try it out. 

I dare you. 

Blog to you later!

~Manders