How many people will smile today because of you?

photo courtesy of Morguefile.com

A challenge

In our busy, fast-paced world, I'd like to offer you this challenge: Make a conscious effort to make the people you come across during your day smile.

My husband is a natural smile-maker, and a champion of making people feel good about themselves. He has a smile, a greeting, and kind words for everyone he meets during his day — the clerk at the deli, the men and women he sees briefly, who sign work orders — and he's liable to break into song and dance at any given time, around perfect strangers. Because of this, many, many people enjoy his company.

I find the more I smile, the more uplifted and positive I feel at the end of the day. It's such a good feeling, I wish everyone could experience it. The truth is, a smile is such a simple, easy thing to share.

In case you need a few suggestions, try these:

Smile and say good morning, hello, or have a great day!
Not only hold the door for someone, but step back and let them go first.
Say something nice about someone's clothes or hair style
Tell them a funny story or a joke
Make eye contact and smile!

You don't need to be a clown, or break into song like my husband, but have some fun with it, or just smile. I bet you'll be surprised with the overall positive responses you get. And notice, too, how making someone smile has the bonus effect of making you feel pretty darn good!

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