A friend passed along an ad for The Coca-Cola Co. done by a Belgian advertising agency with the tagline “Happiness starts with a smile.” The commercial takes place on a cramped subway. Everyone is silent and keeping to themselves.
Suddenly, the camera focuses on a hired actor who randomly starts smiling while looking at his tablet, then begins laughing more and more. Everyone on the subway takes notice and starts smiling and laughing.
Smiling is a bonding agent. It builds bridges to other people around us. It just goes to show you that smiling and laughing are contagious.
I read in Self magazine that 94% of Americans polled said they noticed a person’s smile during a first encounter.
A genuine smile and laugh increase the production of serotonin, the happy hormone, and dopamine – feel-good endorphins that slow cortisol production and diminish feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.
A smile shows that you like yourself, you like your current place in the world and you’re happy with the people you’re interacting with.
Smiling and laughing are contagious.
You should commit to making others smile every day of the week. The first Friday of October was designated World Smile Day for just that purpose. It was created by commercial artist Harvey Ball, creator of the ubiquitous “smiley face,” who believed that all of us should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts.
Smiling and laughing provide a workout. One smile uses more than 16 muscles. During a bout of laughter, the body increases its oxygen intake, which is just as good as taking a few cleansing breaths.
Researchers in Germany instructed a group of people to laugh on demand to measure their core muscles. The data showed that laughing enhanced core muscles as much as – and sometimes more than – when those subjects did back lifts or crunches.
Results from a California study published by the AARP showed the positive impact that laughter has on short-term memory. Participants were separated into two groups. The first group watched a 20-minute comedy video, while the second group sat in silence. Both groups were given memory recall tests before and after the 20-minute period. The group that watched the video scored higher.
Even if you don’t have anything to laugh about, you should force yourself to laugh. This is the finding of a study done at the University of Illinois that shows how smiling can influence your mood and outlook. Researchers divided people into three groups to observe their reactions to a humorous cartoon. The first group was asked to hold a pen in their hands. The second group was asked to put the pen between their lips, forcing a frown on their face. The third group held the pen between their teeth, forcing them to smile. Guess which group found the cartoon to be much funnier – the third group.
At least six people have taken credit for this little poem, but it’s worth sharing.
“Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu.
“When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling, too.
“I passed around the corner, and someone saw my grin.
“When he smiled, I realized, I’d passed it on to him.
“I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth.
“A single smile, just like mine, could travel around the Earth.
“So, if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected.
“Let’s start an epidemic quick and get the world infected!”
Mackay’s Moral: Cover your mouth when you cough. Never cover it when you smile. n
Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times best-seller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com.
