Tag: smile

The Smiling Effect

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How can someone stay happy all the time? Physiologically, it’s due to chemicals like dopamine. They get released and you feel great. A single smile can lift your mood, some might say. I too agree with the “smiling effect.”

However, I am moody in many scenarios. In those situations, I find it hard to smile—I can’t smile when people let me down. When someone has messed something up for you and you’re in a position with the power to either forgive that person or not because of the gravity of the situation, you won’t find yourself smiling. 

Okay, you might be wondering why I’m explaining where your negativity comes from. But sometimes, you’ll have to lower your expectations in people in order to be happy. Once I asked a friend of mine about why he felt depressed, he told me it was because the people around him were all letting him down. 

When he said that, he wasn’t smiling. His expectations in others were too high to achieve. If anything went wrong, he felt let down. Oftentimes he was in the shoes of either forgiving someone or not. That someone would apologize to him because of the stiffness of his face—that he wasn’t smiling. 

However heavy the gravity of the messy-situation, the position to choose either going against our own impulses to forgive or indulging them by attacking that someone can be even heavier. With all that weight on his shoulders, my friend couldn’t smile. So we need to lower our expectations in people to feel happy, it’s not the end of the world. Say if your friend has forgotten to return your text messages and you feel undeserving for it, you should lower your expectations, smile and think that he/she might just be in the middle of something—and in most cases, that is the reason why they’re not replying. No one is failing you because they want to, and they’re not really failing you, because in my opinion, standards that are too high can bring nothing but frustration. 

So, how can we feel happy and deserving? When lowering your expectations for happiness seems to be too much to ask, start by giving your friend a smile.

Photo credit: sites.psu.edu

Do good anyway

thehungryrunnergirl1 Comment

What is kindness? Why are you kind to others? Because you want to be treated the same way? Because you want to be recognized as a nice person? Why can’t people express their love and kindness freely without any complicated emotions?

I think true kindness is not seeking anything in return but wishing others happiness from the bottom of your heart.

“People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may accuse you of Selfish, Ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be Honest and Frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
”

– Mother Teresa

I felt the strength and warmth from this quote.

I feel like a lot of people seek it in return when they did something good to others. But what if you could give love to anyone without expecting them to give it back? Wouldn’t that be nice?

If you think carefully, don’t you feel happy when you’re doing something for someone regardless of the return? Well, I do. When I make someone smile, it just makes me happy.

SO DO GOOD ANYWAY!

Translation:
“Thought” is not visible to anyone.
”Thoughtfulness” is able to be seen.
“Heart” is not visible to anyone.
”Warm-heartedness” is able to be seen.