What if I told you there was a way to look more attractive, feel better and more energized, immediately improve any situation, and reduce your stress levels all at the same time?
What if it could also have a positive impact on your career and increase your chances of promotion, closing a deal, or securing a new opportunity? What if I told you it cost nothing, could be done anywhere, and took only a few seconds?
So what is this miracle drug I’m speaking of?
Smiling.
Just how powerful is smiling? Well according to Ron Gutman a smile can give you as much energy as 1,000 chocolate bars. It also releases a number of feel good neurotransmitters such as dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin, relaxing your body, and lowering your heart rate and blood pressure.
Smiling is the opposite of aggression and sends off a host of positive signals both to yourself, and to everyone around you, that naturally attracts them to you. We’re drawn to positive people.
The beauty of smiling is that you really can “fake it till you make it” as a fake smile still has the power to improve your mood and decrease your stress.
Smiling’s Good For Everyone
We’re not the only ones to enjoy the positive effects though. Smiling is good for everyone.
When we smile at someone we trigger something in their brain that makes them want to return the smile, and so our smile sets off a chain reaction of happiness. If they don’t smile back, then they’re having to make a conscious effort not to. So the next time someone smiles at you, don’t fight it, give in to the happiness.
Smiling For Business
A smile is also an incredibly valuable business tool and should be used regularly and abundantly to increase others perceptions of you as sincere, reliable, and attractive.
Sir Richard Branson has used smiling as a competitive advantage and created a culture where employees are encouraged to be “more open, communicative, and innovative too.”
Smiling can also help you close more deals thanks to “emotional contagion”. Emotional contagion means that when you’re smiling your prospect will pick up on your positivity and the odds of closing the deal are improved.
Smiling Makes You More Productive
If it’s not enough to feel better, look better, make others happier, and help improve your career and business, then this point should really hit it out of the park.
Smiling immediately increases our sense of happiness, and studies have shown that happiness is linked with productivity. This is why major companies continue to invest in increasing workplace satisfaction and overall employee happiness.
So the next time you’re looking for a competitive edge, try the scientifically proven and incredibly effective business tool, your smile.
