Even if only for a moment in time, this transaction has the unique ability to lift spirits and connect. The more we consciously choose to smile or laugh, the more we re-wire our brain (neuroplasticity) to a more positive mindset. A genuine smile, used frequently and authentically, helps set us up for increased happiness, life satisfaction and overall wellbeing.
Smiling is an innate gift that occurs naturally from the earliest stages of our development. From inception, a smile played an evolutionary survival role, to increase interaction and bonding between mother and baby, enhancing the likelihood of a mother attending to her child.
Yet as we journey through life, like so many other things associated with childhood, smiling, particularly at strangers, often diminishes. Where once we smiled from a place of openness and love, we begin to filter our smiles through thought and analysis. We walk in the park or down the street averting people’s gaze rather than seeking it out.
Developing a smiling mindset is one of the best ways to naturally and authentically build positive emotion – both in ourselves and others. You will find that the more you smile, the more you will discover reasons to smile – at work, at home, with friends or colleagues, when you’re out shopping – any and everywhere.
How to develop a smiling mindset
Here are some simple yet significant ways to switch on your inner smile:
Gratitude-triggered smiling (micro-appreciation practice)
This involves deliberately linking your smile to moments of appreciation throughout the day – not as a general “gratitude list,” but as instant micro-responses to life as it happens.
For example:
- When something small goes right (a cup of tea, a kind interaction, a task completed), pause and let a gentle inner smile arise
- You consciously register: “this moment is enough”
- You allow the body to respond first (soft eyes, relaxed jaw, slight smile) before the mind analyses it
This is powerful because it re-trains the nervous system to associate ordinary moments with subtle joy, rather than only reacting to major positive events.
Over time, it builds a kind of baseline warmth, where the inner smile becomes less something you “do,” and more something you intuitively default to.
- Inner smile mindfulness practice (5-10 minutes).
Make yourself comfortable either seated or lying down.
Gently close your eyes and take a moment to connect with your breath. Take a few deep breaths in and out and then softly place a smile on your face.
It may help to think of a time in your life when you felt unconditionally loved, when everything was flowing well, or you were sharing a joyful moment with loved ones. Sit with this smile and note how it makes you feel. How does your forehead feel? How do your eyes, cheeks and lips feel with this radiant smile?
What else is happening in your body as you focus your attention on your smile?
Now deepen your awareness of this smile, breathing it in. As you exhale allow this beautiful love and life affirming smile to flow throughout your body – until every cell, every tissue, every muscle, and every fibre of your being is smiling back at you.
As you continue, notice how this makes you feel. Sit with this feeling and know that at any time of day, simply placing a smile on your face can help shift your physiology and the way you feel.
- Practice Smiling Outside Your Comfort Zone
Go on, I dare you! I can almost feel the inner resistance – but I can also assure you that the more you wear a smile and engage that inner twinkle, the more people will smile back at you.
A smile is a powerful life force. Yet because it’s always right there – just below our nose – we often underestimate how something so simple can profoundly shape individual and communal happiness and wellbeing.
Perhaps begin at your workplace by offering a smile to a colleague. If they don’t immediately smile back, don’t assume you’ve done something wrong. You never know what kind of meeting, stress or challenge they may have just come from.
Whether you are talking, sitting, walking, waiting or simply spending time alone – think smile.
And don’t keep it to yourself. Share a smile or laugh whenever you can. You may never fully know the impact it has or how far it reaches, but that is the beauty of it. A smile is a gift that keeps giving and its ripple effect may well be infinite. Now, how many things can truly do that?
