Smiling is Great

Stop whatever you're doing and smile. No need to think of anything in particular, just use those little cheek muscles and smile.

Now, didn't your mood lift just a little?

I had a little hesitation putting "smile more" on my list because it's not very measurable, but I went with it anyway. The underlying goal here was to simply lead a happier life. To meet this goal, I've simply been trying to smile every time I think about it.

The ultimate goal is to be as happy as this guy is over a bag of cheese doodles.

Some damn good cheese doodles

I also want to be more like some of my heroes who not only are stellar athletes, but simply have a beautiful aura about them because of their smile.

Scott Jurek - Ultra runner

Chrissie Wellington - Ironman Triathlete

Frankly, I've been surprised how powerful this simple act has been. There was one instance where I was pretty pissed off at someone at work and I am one who can hold on to rage for awhile. However, this time, I remembered to smile and my mood instantly changed. Ever since that time, I force myself to smile when I don't want to and it always works. When I do it while I'm exercising, I am pretty sure I look like ridiculously photogenic guy:

For some reason though, cameras are incapable of capturing how awesome I look. Maybe my awesomeness aura will be able to be captured as technology advances.

So, just try it out. A simple thing like smiling can change your mood even in the worst of times.