Positivity & the Body-Mind Connection

When someone says “Smile, and you will feel better” or “Fake it ‘til you make it;" it may seem truly annoying if you are experiencing heavy stress, but research shows that when you change your facial expressions, it actually influences your mood. Really!

Smiling can help you feel happier, while frowning can influence negative feelings of sadness or anger. Of course, smiling will not alter your circumstances into happiness magically, especially if you are managing clinical depression or related health issues, but these data do confirm what we have heard before; the body impacts the mind, just as the mind impacts the body. There is extensive research about various physical techniques (e.g., smiling, assuming a commanding posture, etc.) and mental exercises (e.g., 'reframing' a situation) to help us manage stress, dampen the negative and heighten positive emotions. These are free tools tapping into our amazing body's abilities that can not only improve our day, but can improve wellbeing beyond one day, especially when practiced regularly.

Overall, positivity also enhances our social skills, improves relationships, increases mood, bolsters our immune system, and raises our work performance. Entire books are written about this... in fact, I am working on one (due out December 2024)! Stay tuned....

Sources include:

Nicholas A. Coles, Jeff T. Larsen, Heather C. Lench. A meta-analysis of the facial feedback literature: Effects of facial feedback on emotional experience are small and variable. Psychological Bulletin, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/bul0000194

Elizabeth R. Tenney, Jared M. Poole, Ed Diener. Does positivity enhance work performance?: Why, when, and what we don’t know. Research in Organizational Behavior, November 2016. DOI:10.1016/j.riob.2016.11.002