Someone once asked me why I smile so much? Until then, I never knew I smiled much at all. Okay, I knew I obnoxiously laughed a lot when drinking, but that’s different.

Anyway, it made me wonder if I really did smile more than most people. For example, right now as I’m writing this I’m not smiling… wait, wait, now, I am :).

Hey, you should be smiling too. Come on, when presented with an unexpected obstacle in your life, it’s much more fun to smile at the prospects of overcoming the challenge than stressing with thoughts of possible failure. I prefer my crow feet lines around my eyes over having embedded frown lines on my forehead. You will too when you get to my age. Just wait.

Some people generally get drained being around other people, so they don’t smile much. Me, I usually get energized being around others, which I guess leads to a lot more smiling. I’ve also learned that a genuine smile can disarm people which creates more positive energy for everyone.

One way that would make people smile more often is if they learned to appreciate and enjoy the little things in life more. I really like the taste of eggs in the morning, and hearing the laughter of children, and feeling really connected from great teamwork, and seeing others smile. Most people do as well, but some block a lot of little enjoyable things out of their minds because they are too busy worrying.

I’m not proposing that people taint the reality of their lives. Delusional smiles certainly are not attractive. Just maybe, however, some people may not be paying enough attention to the positives in their lives that are worth smiling about.

Besides smiling is contagious. Here’s a smile that should make most people smile back. See, you’re smiling now too.