I was so happy to see this TED talk on smiling. While some may question the power of the smile, from personal experience I know that when we reach a frustration level where we may act or react in a way that we really do not want to act, SMILING has the affect of reducing the frustration.
As a parent or teacher this is a valuable tool. Just when your child or student has pushed one of your buttons, take a deep breath, smile and then respond. This is much like counting to ten, or 3 deep breaths – but the addition of the smile, eliminates the possibility of being mean. It is impossible to be mean, frown or act in an unkind way – while smiling.
We can practice this on ourselves also. When we see our own anger rising, we can look at it, recognize it for what it is, smile at it and allow it to be. If we smile at our anger, we will see it subside. The power of the smile!
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