SMILE! Such a simple concept... it can brighten your whole day and the days of those around you! To bring more positivity into your life, make a concerted effort to smile more! Smile at your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the passengers in the cars next to you on the highway, even while you chat on the phone (people will hear your smile as you speak!)

I remember reading about a psychology experiment in which researchers gathered depressed patients and a control group. In this groundbreaking discovery, one group received no medication but was instructed to stare into a mirror SMILING WIDELY(!) for I believe 20 minutes a day. This groups depression was alleviated just as much or more so than the group that was administered the antidepressant medication! (I cannot remember the team or university that did the study- if anyone has the link I would be happy to post it here!)

If you are battling clinical depression you should still seek professional counseling, but smiling at yourself in a mirror can help, and for everyone (depressed, happy, or somewhere in between) smiling as much as you can throughout your day can improve your mood and brighten the day of those around you!

In addition, people are attracted to happy people. When you are smiling, you are sending out positive energy into the world. Think for a moment of the type of person you are most attracted to, conjure up an image in your head of a person, real or an imagined, that would be an ideal friend or mate... what do they look like? What is their personality like? How do they move, interact with others, go about their day? How do they treat you? These answers will be a bit different for all of us, but there are some commonalities: chances are they are energetic, passionate, kind, SMILING! They make us feel wanted, loved, appreciated, special! We want to be around people who bring out our own positive energy, who make us smile and laugh as easily as they do!

As you go through your day... Remember to Grin and Share It! :D