One of the best ways to practice gratitude is to smile in all circumstances. Difficult, you might say! Well, no matter what you do, your happiness will never be perfect. There will always be something that makes you feel “unhappy” and not fulfilled. Keeping smiling isn’t just a gesture, it’s a way of life. And since life is always full of surprises, you never know what to expect. But are you going to wallow in self-pity until you’re a billionaire, land the most prestigious job, or meet the most handsome man/woman on earth before you consider yourself happy?

No! Be grateful for the little you have today, while trying to fight for the best. To do this, learn to smile at life, at others and at yourself.

Why should we keep smiling?

Smiling is a positive attitude that expresses joy, peace, happiness and satisfaction. Smiling is a sign of good humor, a gesture of attachment that allows us to share sympathy and kindness. With a smile on your lips, everything becomes simpler and easier. In fact, it’s a natural, innate disposition that enables human beings to show each other love, friendship and affection.

Smiling is a universal language that plays an important role in interpersonal communication. When we face an interlocutor, it reveals that we have understood, accepted and appreciated his or her thought or intention. Keeping smiling shows how willing we are to be there for the person with whom we have a relationship. It also serves to convey welcome, seduction, apology, amusement, nobility, grace, complicity, positive vibes, easing of tension, etc. All this to say that it’s important to keep smiling. But why? There are a thousand and one reasons why you should never stop smiling, no matter how bad life gets. Can’t think of any? Let me help you out.

KEEPING SMILING, AN IMPORTANT ASSET IN COMMUNICATION
Bad moods and bad looks rob us of the attention of others. This makes it difficult to communicate with those around you. Even those who would like to help us in a time of need will find it hard to let us know. But when we smile, the effect is immediate: others can easily approach us. So they feel more at ease around us.

But the benefits of smiling don’t stop there! In fact, it’s a means of non-verbal communication. As you can see, keeping smiling enables us to communicate without saying a word. Of course, no one would argue that only the words that come out of our mouths can be considered as a message. For example, when someone smiles on the phone, it’s obvious that it’s audible. Needless to say, it’s our emotions and state of mind that guide it.

Smiling is a way of showing friendliness and accessibility to others. For example, a friendly person is more likely to make new friends than a totally hostile one.

KEEPING SMILING TO COMBAT STRESS
When we smile, the brain receives a message to release endorphins and dopamine. As these hormones are conducive to pleasure, we feel a sense of well-being. This helps to reduce stress, relax and release negative emotions. When a pleasurable sensation occurs, other so-called happiness hormones also come into play, such as oxytocin, released when we feel unshakeable confidence, and serotonin, secreted when we gain the respect of others.

Instead of being unhappy about feeling unhappy, try to keep smiling. It goes without saying that life’s situations don’t always work out in our favor, making us anxious and sometimes depressed. Not to mention the fact that it’s hard to come to terms with unpleasant feelings. But no matter what, even when you’re sad, don’t refrain from smiling and you’ll see that you’ll feel much better.

SMILING IS BEING GRATEFUL
In a world full of obstacles, pain and suffering, life can sometimes seem difficult and discouraging. But remember one thing: there are plenty of good reasons to feel grateful and keep smiling. For a start, the air you breathe and the water you drink are precious gifts, and for these alone, you can never thank life enough. So why complain about not living it to the full?

So smile for the life you have, for family, friends… And appreciate all the gifts they have to offer, like the fact that you’re healthy, that you’ve found something to eat or that you have a roof over your head to sleep under. There’s nothing better than keeping smiling and savouring the present with what you have and what you love.

POSITIVITY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
Once you’ve learned to smile, you become a person who radiates positive energy. We’re not afraid to take on challenges, and we don’t give up when faced with life’s obstacles. Smiling contributes to our overall fulfillment in life. It can be particularly beneficial in your professional life. The result: you’re more productive at work, more creative and more motivated than ever. In fact, keeping a smile on your face guarantees better performance. Even pressure from your boss becomes your strength, as you’re able to bend circumstances to your advantage. In the end, you make an impact on your team, and your colleagues will keep a good impression of you. A smile gives off positive vibrations and lights up those around you.

SMILE FOR GOOD HEALTH
What’s more, smiling makes you look younger and more beautiful, and extends your life expectancy. By smiling, you are effectively combating premature aging. Keeping smiling activates your zygomatic muscles, which prevent wrinkles from appearing on your face. As a result, you’ll look even younger. In the journal Psychological Science, American researchers estimate that when we smile, we could increase our life expectancy by seven years.

Another scientific study was recently carried out on 24 runners, of their own free will, by Irish researchers. The test results concluded that smiling helps to improve sporting performance. Indeed, joy reduces muscular tension, which in turn limits energy expenditure. It is therefore advisable to keep smiling while practising sport.

Smiling is an excellent remedy for good health. That’s why there’s a Chinese proverb that says: “Smiling three times a day makes all medicine useless”. By smiling, you speed up cell oxygenation and stimulate your immune system. As a result, you fight off many illnesses, such as viral infections, colds, etc.

What’s more, a smile reduces the risk of high blood pressure. In fact, when we smile, we avoid stress. This is due to the reduction and lowering of cortisol. As a result, smiling makes you look good, which helps regulate your heart rate. All in all, smiling has so many benefits for the body, it’s almost as if putting that friendly expression on your face has the same effect as eating a balanced diet or exercising.

How can I always smile?

If you want to get into the habit of smiling, you can practice on your own. You can do it in front of the mirror, in the bathroom, in bed, in the car. This exercise will train you. Observe smiling people to learn how they keep smiling and how they adapt it to the circumstances.

Similarly, if you want to look good, smile at strangers at least once a day. You can do this wherever you go. Their reaction will lead you to connect with those around you and interact with them.

At the start of these different exercises, striving to smile will seem strange and unnatural. What’s more important is the effort you put into making it natural and ordinary. Imitate those who smile spontaneously and persevere in this logic to keep smiling. From now on, you’ll have to pretend until the learning phase is over. As you do this over and over again, you’ll achieve a natural smile.

However, it’s not easy to adapt to this forced smile, especially when you’re in a bad light. To make it come naturally to you, remember to be more optimistic by changing the way you look at the world, and accepting the faults as well as the qualities of others. Open up to new things, don’t close yourself off to knowledge, because there’s so much to learn, so many reasons to keep smiling. And last but not least, spread your joie de vivre. Without a doubt, your smile will be as automatic and radiant as the summer sun, and you won’t even have to ask for it!

LEARN TO SMILE FROM THE HEART
Most people live in a constant state of inner conflict, with negative thoughts sabotaging their lives. If you want to radiate a smile at all times, you need to make an effort that goes beyond the facade. It’s an inner workout that will bring you into harmony with yourself. To keep smiling, you need to determine the things that really please you, so you can enjoy life’s little pleasures. You need to know when to let go, when to say no. Only then will you be truly yourself and happy.

To smile from the heart, it’s essential to stop complaining about the misfortunes that have happened and will happen in life. Without necessarily being aware of it, we can sometimes make a mountain out of a molehill. Associating with optimistic people can also help you to have a better tendency to keep smiling in any circumstance. It’s in this way that you’ll really be able to smile from the heart.

Mother Teresa said, “Peace begins with a smile.” So to be at peace with yourself and with others, you know what to do.

So smile, because life’s too short not to. Smile! It makes you sexier. It’s a positive attitude with many benefits. It’s a great motivator, boosts our emotional life and keeps us healthy. You know how important it is to smile every day. In short, keep smiling because it’s just good, it’s fun.

SHARING YOUR SMILE WITH OTHERS
“A smile costs nothing, but it gives a lot.” There’s no doubt about it, a simple smile doesn’t require time or money. And yet, it provokes thousands in return, with new discoveries, new sensations, new encounters… It’s no wonder that optimists insist that smiling is contagious.

Rest assured, it’s not difficult to share that smile with your friends, colleagues, neighbors, or whoever you’re socializing with. All you have to do is keep smiling! In fact, it’s one of the few things you have to share. A smiling gaze attracts sympathy and lifts the mood. People instinctively react positively to a smiling face.

However, don’t make a point of smiling when you’re walking down the street, chatting to people or working in the office. Just tell yourself that you have everything to gain by smiling. So, whatever you do, remember to transmit that positive energy, even if you don’t naturally have a beautiful smile. The important thing is that this pleasure spreads everywhere, without having to force yourself to keep smiling. Give simply because it’s worthwhile, share because you’re not forbidden to do so. With a smile, you’ll engage, soothe, charm, appreciate, captivate, dazzle, offer and invite. So many characters, but all you have to do is smile, again and again!