The Smile Diet Blog

The Journal of Motivation and Emotion reports that whether or not a person is smiling in their college yearbook photos can be a strong indicator of marital satisfaction or divorce based on two studies conducted at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

In the first study 655 alumni had their college photos ranked by how big their smile was (2=no smile, 10=beaming grin).

In the second study 61 adults 55 years and older had 8 photos from the ages of 5-22 reviewed.

Both studies found that the bigger your smile, the more likely you are to be still be married compared to the non-smilers.

First of all, while it makes a great case for the importance of smiling, do we really need a study to know that smiles attract and sustain healthier relationships. Just look at two people in love or best friends walking down the street.

Second, has your mind wandered back to your own photos? Mine did. We didn’t sit for formal portraits for a yearbook, but I do have a candid photo of me beaming walking off the stage after accepting my diploma, and…I was divorced three years later. So many possible interpretations in hindsight, however, what’s most important for you and me is that we smile more often and show bigger smiles with our loved ones now.

Read the rest of the article at Rodale News and if you want more smiles and happier relationships, sign up for your free Smile Diet 7-Day eCourse from MySmileDiet.com. It works and it’s fun.

Keep smiling and let me know whether your college grad photo and marital status match the study.

Technorati Tags: Smile Diet, Journal of Motivation and Emotion, Smiling, Divorce, Smile Diet eCourse, MySmileDiet.com

I just finished reading “Dr. Mao’s Secret to Longevity” column on Yahoo. Today’s post is “Going Up! 7 Pointers to Lift a Bad Mood.”

His 7 points are great, AND by adding a 16-SECOND SMILE to every action he suggests, you will increase the level of endorphins in your body and send a stronger “feel good” message from your brain to your body that will help you feel even better.

Here are his 7 tips:

1. Laugh more. [MM Note: Did you ever realize that laughter begins with a SMILE and is the most intense SMILE you can create?]

2. Consider using the amino acid and nonprescription SAM-e to boost your mood. [MM Note: Be sure to read the fine print. SAM-e can’t be taken if you’re already on anti-depressants.]

3. Go to a hands-on healer. [MM note: And SMILE while you’re being worked on.]

4. Do lunges and squats to activate your natural youth hormones. [MM Note: This is new information to me; all I know is that squats and lunges are two exercises I don’t like to do but know they strengthen my legs and core. These definitely require SMILING to help make them easier.]

5. Breathe more deeply and more often. [MM Note: Here’s where a 16-second SMILE really pays off. You live longer and with more joy when you SMILE while breathing.]

6. Smell the joy. Aromatherapy can lift depression. [MM Note: And do a 16-second SMILE while you’re smelling to increase the positive experience.]

7. Keep fresh blooming flowers around you. [MM Note: And whenever you look at the blooms, SMILE a 16-second SMILE to deepen the pleasure.

Great ideas. Thanks Dr. Mao! Check out Dr. Mao’s book Secrets of Longevity and SMILE while you’re reading it.

Mary Marcdante

Technorati Tags: 16-SECOND SMILE, SMILE, SMILING, depression, Secrets of Longevity

A study led by Dr Erik J Giltay of the Psychiatric Center GGZ Delfland and published in The Archives of General Psychiatry, followed 941 Dutch subjects, ages 65 to 85, from 1991 to 2001.

Subjects were ranked as pessimistic or optimistic on the basis of their reactions to statements like, ‘I still have positive expectations concerning my future’ and, ‘I often feel that life is full of promises.’ Dr Giltay and his colleagues found that subjects with the highest level of optimism were 45 per cent less likely than those with the highest level of pessimism to die of all causes during the study…

Happiness will always win out over sadness; being optimistic will always make you feel better than being pessimistic, and whether you can train yourself to be happy or not, a smile always makes things seem just a little better. And for the optimists out there, if a smile happens to give you a longer life, that’s just an added benefit.

Smile - it might keep you alive

This is a great article on the power of happiness, longevity, and the pessimistic brain. And another reminder for the importance of a 16-second smile.

Sign up for your complimentary 7-Day Smile Diet eCourse.

Smiling because of you,

Mary

Have you been to the The Good News Network International website? Every day you’ll find new posts of good news from all over the world. It’s a great way to keep a smile on your face.

Geri Weis-Corbley is the founder of The Good News Network. Please support her site and sign up for her daily newsletter. You can even volunteer to be a good news provider. Imagine what our world could look like if every newspaper had a front page with Good News section. Geri’s working on it and I support her efforts.
TIP: Sign up for the The Good News Network newsletter and make GNN’s home page your browser’s home page. You’ll assured that you’re filling your mind with positive energy every time you sign on to the internet. Your immune system and your subconscious mind will thank you.

One of today’s entries on GNN that really got to me included a story about a woman in Chile who saved a lion from abuse in a circus and the lion’s response. The photo below is only part of the story.

Click here to read the story originally reported by San Diego’s News 8 TV station.

Do you recognize the man in the photo? That’s right. Matthew Lesko, the government grant guy. Late night infomercials and in my case, an email in my inbox this morning wanting to help me have a successful future in America by joining his bookclub.

Whenever I see a photo of this man, I find myself myself smiling slightly with a snort and side-to-side head nodding as in “Is he for real?!” What about you? I’ve found his pitch compelling but I’ve never ordered anything from him, as millions of other Americans seem to have done. Maybe that’s the reason he always smiling. And, maybe there’s something else going on…

My point in sharing his photo and my opinion is not to endorse his products (he appears to be doing just fine) but to remind you of these powerful lessons:

* Not everyone will like you (darn!), and when you bump into those who aren’t enamored of your presence, you’ll have a lot less stress and more joy in your life if you practice the 16-second smile and incorporate The Smile Diet’s Six Characteristics of an Enthusiastic Leader into your life:

1. Radiate positive energy
   Lesko’s energy is clown-like, and his larger-than-life enthusiastic presence (outrageous and caricaturable to some) draws attention to his products and services.
2. Be curious and interested in life and people
   Lesko is a voracious researcher, which has made him a wealthy man. He encourages people to learn more about how to improve their lives and his zoot-suit style of dressing with question marks plastered all over his clothing is a not-so-subtle reminder of the power of being curious and asking questions (hopefully before you invest your money in his or anyone else’s products).
3. Focus on the good
   Lesko reminds people that there are opportunities everywhere when you look for them. Even with the number of people who believe he is a scam artist, his testimonial photo letters show that some people are benefiting.
4. Feel deeply and laugh often
   Whether you feel a warm fuzzy or want to turn a cold shoulder toward Lesko, you can’t deny that Lesko likes to have fun and laugh, which is great for managing conflict, especially when you have a vocal peanut gallery of hecklers and several consumer protection agencies investigating you. When asked if he wears his question-mark suit to establish his “brand” he responded, “No, I was just trying to have fun.”
5. Do something you love
   Now, I don’t know Matthew Lesko personally, but I do know that to sustain a larger-than-life personality in the public eye requires incredible energy and a passion for connecting with others. Lesko’s longevity in business and the information products industry suggests that he also has a passion for his ideas.
6. Serve a greater purpose than yourself
   A business succeeds or fails based on how well it serves people. Whether you see Matthew Lesko’s business as a service or scam, his work is focused on helping others benefit from government grants they may not be aware of. Check out this Harvard Business Review article on Lesko:

His motivation is not greed, but altruism, Lesko said. When asked whether the government has given him money to advertise different programs, he responded, “Yes, but money is not important to me anymore.” He said that “some bureaucrats say, ‘Talk about my program,’” but they’re not trying to get rich. “They’re just earnest people trying to help.” After all, said Lesko, the American people have already paid for all of these programs through taxes and fees, so shouldn’t they use what they’ve already bought? “People are so unhappy working for large organizations, because, really, they don’t care,” Lesko said. “When you have your own thing, you can paint the world your way—the way you always wished the world was.”

Love him or hate him, view him as a leader or loser, Matthew Lesko makes a great point about painting the world your way to create the world the way you wish it was, and a great way to paint your world is to…

Share your smile. Lots of people need it today.

This is one of the best articles I’ve read on the definition of happiness. The author is Brian Tracy, a positive thinking leader who has had an enduring influence on my life and career.

His ideas on selfishness as a key factor in happiness and as a way to ultimately being of service will make you think twice about what puts a smile on your face and keeps it there.

The key to happiness is this: Dedicate yourself to the development of your natural talents and abilities by doing what you love to do, and doing it better and better in the service of a cause that is greater than yourself. This is a big statement and a big commitment.

Being happy requires that you define your life in your own terms and then throw your whole heart into living your life to the fullest. In a way, happiness requires that you be perfectly selfish in order to develop yourself to a point where you can be unselfish for the rest of your life. Read this article…

Two audio programs I’ve listened to again and again and highly recommend to shift your consciousnesss from depression to delight are:

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