Betsy Guerra argues that smiling is a simple path to happiness. Drawing a smile releases oxytocin, the feel-good hormone. Harvard researcher Sean Achor found that positivity and self-affirmations substantially boost happiness, and smiling spreads the effect to others.
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Oxytocin
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Whoa. Did I make you smile? Smiling is a powerful thing. And maybe you didn't feel like smiling right now, but I have that power in me. I can make people smile. And all I have to do is smile as well. Let me tell you what research says about smiling. When you draw a smile on your lips, you release oxytocin, which is one of the feel good hormones that tells your body, hey, we're feeling great, you're in a pleasant mood. So whether we smile because we're happy or we choose to smile to then become happy, smiling is a powerful thing. There's this guy, Sean Acre, that does research in Harvard about happiness. Didn't even know you could do that. And he was saying that we have emphasized so much nature versus nurture, the genetics and the environment, that we have forgotten to include a very powerful component, which is positivity. Smiles. Bringing joy and happiness to your life, yourself. So positive affirmations, telling yourself that you're awesome, that you're beautiful, that you got this, all those things can be stronger than genetics and environment. Amazing. So whenever you don't feel like smiling, whenever you feel like your world is falling apart, smell, smile, smile anyway, don't feel like it doesn't matter, Smile, because when you do so, you're gonna tell your body, I feel great. And you are going to make other people around you smile. And when we do good, we also have another shot of oxytocin. I just had a shot of oxytocin because I made you smile. And now I'm in a super good mood thanks to you, thanks to that smile. So don't think about all these wonderful experiments and things that we could do, like big things, a pill, the magical pill, or therapy. Even just a simple smile can be therapeutic.
