It can greatly improve your life.

These days there seems to be very little to smile about but did you know that smiling can greatly improve your life. The smile is one of the strongest communication tools, and many spend their entire lives not knowing how to properly use it. The smile is also the universal expression of happiness and recognised by all human beings regardless of culture, nationality or other social differences.

Dale Carnegie, in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, best summed up the lasting impacts of a smile: 'It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.'

'None are so rich or mighty that they can get along without it, and none are so poor but are richer for its benefits. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature's best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.'

'Some people are too tired to give you a smile, may we ask that you leave them one of yours? For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give!'

And in case you still doubt its effectiveness here are some more interesting facts about smiling.

Facts About Smiling
72% of people think of those who smile frequently as being more confident and successful.

86% of people say that they are more likely to strike up conversations with strangers if they are smiling.

Bosses are 12% more likely to promote people who smile a lot.

The effects of a smile are so powerful that even a smile on the telephone produces positive results.

When someone comes into a room, people are automatically drawn to their face, and a smile provides a warm greeting.

Studies show that happiness is a by-product of smiling, not the other way around as most people assume.

A smiling person is judged to be more pleasant, attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent than a non-smiling person.

Smiling is the only human facial expression that can be recognised at a distance of 300 feet.

A smile is the most frequently used facial expression; it takes as few as five pairs of facial muscles and as many as all 53 to smile.

Smiling releases endorphins and makes us feel better.

Even ‘faking’ a smile can lead to feeling happier

People are born with the ability to smile (They don’t copy the expression, even babies who are born blind, smile).

A newborn shows a preference for a smiling face over a non-smiling face.

There are 18 different kinds of smile used in a variety of social situations.

Try it out and see for yourself! You'll find that almost every person you smile at will return the gesture. The hardest part is usually being the first person to smile.

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