Power of a Simple Smile

I love when someone that I don’t know flashes me a smile!

I love when someone that I love and adore flashes me a smile from across the room.

I love when someone is spilling their heart of hurt, then looks up and smiles and says…but it will all be ok, I just know it.

I think smiles are among the most powerful things ever.

Hugs are neck and neck with just how powerful a simple gesture can be.

Think about it with me for a moment will you?  You can never smile at the wrong person and regardless of who you are, what circumstances you face or financial situation you are in, you have smiles that are ready in an instant.

You simply choose when to smile and to whom you smile. Easy!

Let’s take a deeper look at just how powerful a simple smile is!

1.  A smile will calm the deepest fear – You’ve been there before. So fearful that you feel you can’t move and then someone smiles, extends a hand and immediately your heart is reassured and the fear starts to diminish.
2. A smile will ease the pain of hurt – Regardless of what kind of pain you are dealing with…it hurts! Pain is pain and it all hurts.  Sometimes pain is noticeable and when we smile, we help acknowledge their hurt.  The most powerful one is when we smile, acknowledging and have no clue just how deep the hurt runs.
3. A smile will destroy anger – Anger can be very controlling.  We get caught up in its choke hold and find that we can’t wiggle our way out.  Sometimes smiling is the only way, other than walking away.  My son was very angry at some unfortunate events.  He had “had enough” and was telling me about it.  I was listening intently to the reasons he was so angry and then right in the middle he stopped and said.  “Just stop it.” I shook my head and said stop what?  He then replied – “stop smiling because I can’t be angry when you are smiling at me.”  I wasn’t smiling to diminish his feelings in anyway, I was smiling because I love him and I wanted to help him because he was hurting.
4. A smile will help to dry tears – I know this could easily fit under the pain of hurt, but some hurts don’t bring tears, while others do.  Sometimes we just cry…just because.  Sometimes we carry the weight of the world and it reduces us to tears.  Sometimes tears of joy fall and even though they are joyful, they are still tears.  A smile at someone who is tearful will be huge to them.
5.  A smile will encourage – Sometimes we all need a little encouragement.  All of us.  Sometimes we need a gentle nudge that reminds us to take the next step.  Sometimes a smile is all that we need.  Such Power!
6. A smile instantly displays kindness – Kindness is almost a forgotten thing these days.  We are busy, we are always behind and are rarely understanding.  When there are 15 people in ONE check-out line, the tension is always thick and kindness is nowhere to be found.  ONE smile from you can change that.  Chatter will start and people will enjoy the wait a lot more just because you displayed some unexpected kindness.
7. A smile is reassuring – You’ve been there before, we all have.  You completely blew it and blew it big time.  You wonder what in the world you were thinking and wish you could just be swallowed up by the ocean or have the mountain fall down on you.  What if right in the middle of all of this, someone stopped and smiled?  You’ve admitted to your mistake, you are fixing it to the best you can and then…the smile comes.  Your heart is eased and your mind is reassured.
8. A smile is extraordinary in the middle of the ordinary – We all love the early morning hours don’t we? WHAT?!? You don’t? ohhh baaah humbug.  *smiling* I’m a night person and not much of a morning person, but for whatever reason, I’m generally very perky in the morning.  (Just not after a nap…read here next) Many people are slow to “get going” and your bright smile will help to get the mundane morning off to a great start.  Try it sometime.  A HUGE smile and warm Good morning….powerful!
9. A smile is pure JOY in the middle of the ickiness – You’ve had one of “those days” before.  No need to recount it here, BUT, that person that smiled at you right out of nowhere brought you more joy than they realized didn’t they?  So, let me challenge you! Right smack in the middle of your icky day… SMILE! It’s Powerful!
10. A smile is the same in any language – I don’t always have the opportunity to speak with people that don’t speak English, but when I do, I smile HUGE first.  We all speak that language and it means the same, regardless of where you are from.  It speaks volumes before the first word has been spoken.

Every single one of us has something POWERFUL, yet we don’t use it nearly enough.

Use your smile daily!

It’s more powerful than you know!

What is your story of a powerful smile? Share with us below.