It's All about Attitude: Put on a Happy Face ~ Excert from Thin Pink Line Blog

I heard a story last week that reminded me about the importance of having the right attitude. A woman recounted that she had spent the morning playing with her young children and, leaving them with a babysitter, the afternoon running errands. She went to the grocery store, the dry cleaner, the fish store and the drugstore, each time having extraordinarily pleasant interactions with the people she encountered. By the time she was finished, she was almost giddy because she’d had such a wonderful afternoon. After she arrived home, she glanced in the mirror. To her amazement, the whiskers and funny nose she’d drawn on her face while playing with her children in the morning still remained. People must have been reacting to her obvious sense of playfulness!


Although I am not suggesting you need to literally draw a happy face on your own, I do believe we often make things worse for ourselves by reacting badly when things don’t go the way we’d like them to. Clearly, we don’t control the outcomes of many things; what we can control is our reactions. And, our reactions make all the difference. Some ideas:

•Before you react, take a deep breath. Not only does the breath have a positive physical effect, it gives you time to think about how best to react.

•Think about the situation from the other person’s perspective. Most people don’t get up in the morning, look themselves in the mirror and vow to be miserable to others throughout the day (of course, there are some exceptions). People have their own rationales for behaving the way they do. If you try to put yourself in their place, you’ll be better able to empathize with them. Don’t confuse empathy with agreement however — you may still disagree, you’ll just do it more pleasantly if you are empathetic.

•Fake it till you feel it. Even if you’re not in the best mood, force yourself to smile or at least to keep your face neutral rather than frowning. Not only will you appear more pleasant to others but you may even for yourself.

Readers, what other things work for you?