Knowing how to smile more might not be second nature to all of us, but there certainly are things we can do to make ourselves feel more comfortable in sharing a smile with those around us! Follow these steps to help you smile more. People with a propensity to display genuine happiness are likely to enjoy quality social relationships. This pattern has shown up several times in some remarkable studies. Smiling is the natural response to something funny, happy, or enjoyable so it follows that you probably don't need help with the automatic smile response. Where there is room for improvement is in those mundane, everyday situations when you otherwise might not be automatically smiling. To learn how to smile more, you must practice.....

Smile the moment you wake up

The first thing after waking up, before you get up from bed, right after you open your eyes is… SMILE! Smiling first thing in the morning packs a great punch. If you smile the moment you wake, you set the tone for the rest of your day. You instantly feel better about whatever the day has in store. It helps you approach the day’s challenges with a positive attitude. It also does wonders for helping with morning drowsiness, as smiling gets you up and moving quickly!

Practice smiling a lot

When you practice smiling it becomes easier over time to do it naturally. You practice while looking in the mirror when you’re getting ready for your day. Eventually your smile looks less forced or strained, and your confidence sky rockets when you automatically smile at a situation without having to think too much about the response.
 
When you practice smiling, you start to see things in a more positive light and eventually rewire your brain to see more situations from a positive perspective, versus a stressful or negative one. Even if at first it feels a little forced and faked, it still works. Just keep practicing!

Create smile cues

To get in the practice of smiling more often, you can't only practice in the mirror but you can also create cues or reminders to smile. Tell yourself you are going to smile every time you open the door, see a dog or a baby, drink a coffee or go for a run. Choose whatever you want to be your smile cues, but hold true–if you’re doing the action that’s part of a cue then you should smile! Choose simple things you’ll remember and keep smiling.

Change your perspective

Think happy thoughts. Honestly, it works. If you’re thinking happy and positive thoughts, you automatically smile more often!
 
If you find it difficult to break the rut of negative thinking or a pessimistic attitude, try taking sixty seconds to change your perspective. Be still. Try not to give into the thoughts racing around in your head, and let your body just relax into a peaceful state. Free of stress, self-doubt, work deadlines, and to-do lists, just focus on letting your mind be empty. It’s only sixty seconds, but it works to make you feel lighter. Change your perspective to allow more positivite in your day. It’s kind of a quick meditation to clear your head and get you back on track to think in a more optimistic way, and with that comes more smiles and laughter.

Smile at everyone

You might think this sounds ridiculous, but smile at everyone you see. Simply smiling at every person you come across in a day opens opportunities to happiness and generally feeling good about yourself and your life. If you meet eyes with someone on your commute to work, instead of quickly looking away, make eye contact and smile at them. When you’re interacting with coworkers, smile. Even if you’re confronted with a situation or person that makes you feel uncertain, and you’re deciding between being stern and smiling, just think of one positive thing about the situation and choose to smile.
 
You’ll instantly feel happier when you choose to smile, and you make the other person feel good as well. Smiles are contagious so if you smile to everyone you see in a day, they may pass on a smile to someone else.

Smile a lot

Smile when you’re happy, when you feel love, when you feel playful, and even when you’re feeling sad or stressed. Smiling when you’re feeling good is simple, as it’s a natural reaction to smile when you’re happy. Smiling out of love sometimes takes a bit more courage, as we might feel shy or embarrassed. But if you’re thinking of someone you care about, or something that you genuinely love, just smile. Be grateful you have someone or something to be passionate about.
 
Integrating smiling and laughter into your day will increase your positivity, decrease your stress, and generally make you feel more at ease in most situations. Laughter and smiling not only makes you live a happier, healthier, less stressful and longer life, it also makes other people feel good as well. Passing on a smile instead of a scowl is much more beneficial for yourself and everyone around you. We can’t always control what happens to us, but smiling and laughing more often can really change your internal and external experience, and brighten your perspective on life. So keep smiling!