Okay, so, I’ve been feeling a bit down lately, you know? Just one of those stretches where things feel kinda gray. So, I figured, why not try something to shake things up? I remembered that old saying, “Turn that frown upside down,” and it got me thinking about, well, smiling.
I decided to make an effort to smile more. I mean, I actually put in some work to smile more. Sounds simple, right? But let me tell you, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when you’re not feeling it. I started with trying to smile at myself in the mirror every morning.
- First day, I woke up, dragged myself to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. My reflection looked back, all tired and grumpy. I tried to force a smile. It felt so weird and unnatural. More like a grimace, really.
- Day two, it was a little bit easier. Still felt fake, but I held the smile a bit longer. I even tried to think of something funny while doing it. No luck, but hey, at least I was trying.
- By day three, something interesting started to happen. It was like my face muscles were starting to remember what it felt like to smile. I did my usual routine, looked in the mirror, and tried to smile. This time, it wasn’t so forced. Still not a genuine, happy smile, but definitely less of a grimace.
I kept this up, every morning. Smiling at myself like a crazy person. But you know what? It actually started to make a difference. It’s like that saying, “fake it ’til you make it,” but with smiles.
Starting to Feel It
Then I started thinking about being grateful. That’s another one of those things people always say, “be grateful,” but I never really gave it a shot before. So after the mirror-smiling act, I started to list things I was grateful for. At first, it was the big things – my family, my home, my health, and stuff like that.
But then I started to notice the small things. Like the way the sun felt on my skin, the taste of my morning coffee, that one dumb joke that made me chuckle. And every time I thought of something, I’d try to smile. It felt a bit more natural when I had a reason behind it. It was nice.
Smiling at the World
After a while, I felt bold enough to start smiling at other people. Just random folks on the street, the cashier at the grocery store, the mailman. It was awkward at first. Some people smiled back, some looked at me like I was nuts. But I kept at it.
And, slowly, things started to change. Not dramatically, but in a subtle, good way. My days felt a little brighter. I felt a little lighter. And those smiles I was forcing at the beginning? They started to feel a little more real.
So, that’s my little experiment. Smiling more, being more grateful. It’s not a miracle cure, but it definitely made a difference. It’s like a little reminder that sometimes, even when things feel rough, a simple smile can make things a little bit better. Give it a try, maybe you’ll find it’s a habit worth building, too. Just my two cents.
