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Jan 16, 2009
"Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available." --Jim Beggs
The Science of Smiling
"My personal trainer sometimes gives me an odd piece of advice during workouts: "Relax your face." For a long time, I found this advice confusing. Isn't physical exertion supposed to be expressed in grimaces? I thought of the face as a pressure-relief valve that helps emit the pain the body is experiencing. But the trainer suggested I think about it the other way around -- that controlling the face can help control the mind. I was skeptical until I read a paper in the January issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. That paper led me to other papers, and it turns out the trainer is right: The face isn't a pressure-relief valve. It is more like a thermostat. When you turn down the setting, the machinery inside has to do less work." This fascinating article from Time magazine offers more insights into the science of smiling.
BE THE CHANGE
Practice smiling when you catch yourself in a tense or anxious frame of mind and notice what effect it has on you.
