All Smiles
The other day someone I know said they saw me walking home from the bus stop and said I didn’t look very happy. I didn’t notice them (they drove past me) but I don’t remember being unhappy. I was probably deep in thought of video games and smutty images. It did get me thinking about our “neutral” faces. The ones we have and show the world as we go about our day avoiding talking to others. I would agree with my friend and say I probably looked like someone that was kind of unfriendly. Most of us do. Check it out next time you’re out. I’ve since been making an effort to look at little bit happier as I go about my day. I don’t have a beaming smile, but I am more conscious of the image I’m presenting to others that I pass during my day. I’m only 36, I don’t need to look like a sour puss right now. I’ll have my later years for that. ^_^
Play Asia
November 15th, 2013 at 5:14 am
This is something that I’ve worried about for some time. Apparently, I have a rather dour ‘neutral’ face. My wife once told me that, when she first saw me, she thought I was “scary” (really glad that second impressions can matter). Students and professors have told me that my classroom demeanor can seem ‘frightening’ at first (this might just be initial public-speaking nerves). But many people have intimated that I, somehow, come off as angry/upset/off-putting until they get to know me better. I’m actually quite a jovial person, most of the time. I think people just mistake my Deep-Thought mode for indignation, when in fact it is contemplation. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if I’m not subconsciously putting up a front to keep others at bay, and protect my introverted posture (I hesitantly suspect that there is something to this).
November 15th, 2013 at 11:14 pm
I think most people look kinda of grumpy if they’re not interacting with people. Intentional or not. All it takes is to just become aware of how you might look at any given point of the day and reminding yourself to not look so grumpy.
November 15th, 2013 at 5:20 am
A new big thing in psychology is the effects of positive feedback loops. It’s like a panic attack. You feel yourself getting worked up and you know that if you don’t stop you will need to face the consequences. So you start to worry about not being calm and in turn it makes you more nervous, and in turn you can feel yourself building up. So on. This can happen with many different states like sadness or anger, a self fulfilling prophecy if you will.
Happiness has been linked to very similar circumstances. If you smile it means you’re happy. Even if you’re smile is disingenuous smiling can and usually will improve your mood.
There is a lot of work looking into subconscious ties. An example is, if you are smiling your face feels a certain way, and that can bring up feelings of past times when you were smiling. Even if it is not a conscious thought.
Plus if you smile it makes most everyone around you just a little happier as well. Social animals, and all.
November 15th, 2013 at 11:18 pm
I just read an article that mentioned just about everything you’ve brought up here. I totally believe that looking happy will ultimately help you feel better as you go about your day. It can be hard to remind yourself to smile from time to time rather then go to your default face, but it’s worth it if you can do it. ^_^