Pass on a Smile

Have you ever seen the movie Pay It Forward?

What a great movie.

Although it is a little dark the concept is awesome. What if we just did good things for people not because they did it first but because it was a kind thing to do. What if we asked not for something in return but rather to pass on the gesture? It doesn't have to be giving someone a car like in the show (unless you have that kind of extra money), it can just be a smile. A smile is pretty powerful! You can change someone's mood with a smile.

People have busy lives. We are always going somewhere. We rarely get a chance to just sit and be. We get up and go to work 40+ hrs a week. We race around in traffic, try to get the best parking spot, get to the shortest line at the bank and jump back in the car. We rush to take the kids to activities, quickly throw together dinner (or buy take out) and off we go again. At the end of all that we get home to rest and get ready for the next day. Rinse and repeat.

No wonder we don't smile. We are always on edge and it only takes one little thing to set us off. Driving we have zero patience. Shopping we are stressed. Waiting for a meal in a restaurant or a drive through...

We gotta slow down!

What could we do to make the hustle bustle of life seem a little less stressful?

Smile

We barley make eye contact with the people we come in contact with. Our minds are running a mile a minute and we are always moving onto the next task. The last thing we want to do is smile.

There is incredible power in a smile. Smiling can change someone’s mood in a fraction of a second. Same sex or opposite sex doesn’t matter, it just switches on your feel good emotions. It changes your thoughts from you to them.

• When a friend smiles you feel the connection.
• When a lover smiles you feel the emotion.
• When a stranger smiles you feel the possibilities.

And when you see it you can’t help but do it back.

How can you start the smile chain?

Put some music on that you like. That can make you smile. Get a little treat when you are out and share it with a friend... smile. Pick yourself up some flowers or pick them up for your lover.

Smile

Take a minute and see what other people are going through. It's an interesting experiment to people watch. Try it at the mall or the grocery store or in the parking lot.

There are lots of little things you can do to help. Open a door for someone or take their cart back when they are finished unloading their groceries. These opportunities come up all the time. The great thing about them is that they have a double effect. You will ease the burden for someone but it will also give you a boost too. You get a feeling that you have done a "good deed.” Make eye contact with the person you just helped. I bet you both will smile!

Give it some thought. You don't have to go out there and create situations to help people all day. They will present themselves when you least expect it. When they happen, jump up and help out. It will warm both your hearts and set off a chain reaction that could go from person to person all day long. Your smile could be the most important thing that someone needs to carry on. You could give hope and literally save a live.

So go out there and start the grin game. Change someone’s mood and maybe even their whole day. What do you got to lose?

You could make a lot of people smile...