Have you heard about Cesar Millan? The dog trainer that “rehabilitates dogs and trains humans”. It became a favourite of ours for a while: our family loved watching his show, getting nasty dogs to change behaviour because of his ways – and then him teaching the humans how to be and do.
Anyway, I vividly remember one episode with a literal UNDERdog, afraid, weary. Do you know what he did to get change happening? He tied up the dog’s tail! So it HAD to have a happy tail all day, and after a while it worked!
Imagine us handing out back & head stretch gears to every person entering our house or workplace with looming, sulking shoulders and eyes stuck to the ground. And why not add a bit of duct tape to secure a permanent smile on their face as well? All fun and games – but they would feel happier after a while (if it wasn’t for the embarrassment of walking around with a stick tied to your back… hrm… I need to come up with an invisble invention..).
But you get the point? The great news is, our mind can do this for us. Don’t need sticks or tape, we can place positive thoughts and beliefs in our mind and see the effect! And yes, it will feel a bit awkward at the start (like the stick), but imagine the additional happy-feeling-hours you will get, wouldn’t it be worth a bit of awkward training??
Try it tonight: it could even make your family and yourself laugh – because that fake, plastered smile that you’re really trying so hard to keep going WILL look hilarious. Double win, you feel better, and you may just have defused any upcoming family quarrels! Happy (forced?) smiling.