Smile...It Really Can Change Your Life #thesmileproject

This past week I had the chance to revisit an old experiment that came about after a number of dates and the joys of the online-dating experience.  After several dates with emotionally unavailable types, and in general more pen pals than any working professional has time for, I took to the streets of Toronto with some of my best single friends to test the power of a smile. The project really has become a game changer.

This past week, with several opportunities to test the theory, some incredible research was completed. With a gaggle of girlfriends we hit the king west area Thursday night to play.  A girlfriend tested her first smile and we learned a few things. Firstly, how hard and awkward it can be the first few times.  However therein was the lesson...a simple smile can be the building blocks to restoring self-esteem, confidence, and even self-love.  If smiling at an object of potential affection. Is difficult, start with just another person, a child, a senior, a member of the same or opposite sex.  There is a natural serotonin boost that comes from sending good vibes, and even more so when it is returned.  More interestingly, we learned that a smile that is not genuine does not have the same effect...work  to the real thing if you are comfortable with it yet.

The other piece that came as a confidence builder was to not just make eye contact, but hold it for a quick second, and whatever you do, do not look down right after.  Hold your head high, adjust your gaze back in front of you. We're not going for the creepy stare here :). But, looking down right after is a sign of low confidence. Next time you try this, be conscious of what you do or feel right after you make eye contact and smile.  I have caught myself initially looking down. Sometimes you just fake it till you make it right? 

You can build yourself back up, and build up someone else with such a simple gesture. Even if you don't know it, that very smile might have been everything to someone else. This week I extended my own good energy from a simple smile to passing my paid for parking voucher to a stranger at the ticket machine. She was shocked, I was thrilled that it brought a warmth over her when she realized what I was doing.  Thursday night, I approached a woman in a bar to tell her how hot she looked in her dress.  She literally almost cried and thanked me for saying so, she'd been self-conscious about her selection and really appreciated the compliment, and more so coming from another female who had nothing to gain from saying so.

The best part, all of the actions on my part were given with expectation of nothing. But what I got back was far beyond what I could have imagined :) it warmed my heart, and heed me stand a little taller with my own joy.

"Making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world"