Daily Thought for Change

The Cost of a Smile

What does it cost you to smile?

Not much. Maybe a few calories to flex some facial muscles.

But what’s the ROI?

I was humming and dancing along, walking back from my gym session on the way back home on my birthday. I thought to myself, I'm 38 today, feeling better than ever, did quite a few awesome things - now it's time to squeeze all the juice and plan and do something audacious!

For me, a smile always shifts how I see the world. 

Just a little. Even on the darkest days. A sprinkle of optimism on that sour grape. It nudges me to notice the brighter side. The possibility side. The “maybe this could turn out well” side.

And what’s the ROI of that?

I do more. I reach out. I try again. I make that call, send that message, finish that thing I was putting off.

Because suddenly, the future feels like it might be worth showing up for. Like it might actually work out.

"Research indicates that facial expressions can influence your emotions. This suggests that consciously or unconsciously changing your facial expression can affect your emotional experience. For example, smiling can lead to increased feelings of happiness, while frowning might intensify feelings of sadness"

And when you feel better, you do better.

"The most valuable thing we learned from expectation theories is that expectations affect behaviors significantly. This study deepens this knowledge, and proposes a model that puts forward the idea that optimistic expectations stimulate proactive personality characteristics…

...earlier study points out that optimistic expectations have significant potential to directly and positively affect the level of work engagement, work outcomes and work performance”

There’s a body of research that shows that optimists are more proactive AND better at strategic thinking and decision-making, and delivering results.

And I see it in my work all the time. Clients often say:

“I just don’t feel motivated.”
“What if I put in the effort and it still doesn’t work?”
“I’m scared I won’t pull it off.”

It’s not laziness. It’s a loss of belief. Temporal loss of optimism that often causes less action.

We procrastinate not because we’re out of motivation but because we’ve quietly decided that trying might not be worth it.

So back to that smile.

That tiny, no-cost facial change could tip the scale. It can raise your optimism just enough to get you moving. And once you’re in motion, everything else changes. Everything becomes possible.

Because what's the cost? And look at the upside 😊