My sister had her second ever ballet performance yesterday. I attended this time. She did well – my mom cried. But that’s not what I want to talk about.
One of the dancers in particular had an obnoxious smile. She smiled the whole time on stage.
Remember that.
I’m not a huge Lawrence Welk fan. But, and my dad mentions this just about every time I’ve seen the show with him, the performers are always smiling. They have the performance down pat. Everything’s perfect. And they smile the whole time on stage.
Remember that.
In my first English class in college, a girl sat in the front row, and she always smiled. A friend of mine asked her what her name was. She said, “Yeah, I see you all the time, you’re always smiling, and I just wanted to meet you because of it.”
Remember that.
Another friend smiles while he’s just walking around. This guy’s smile is obnoxious, and he’s not even on stage. It’s contagious. Just being around him makes you want to ask, “Why are you so happy?”
I’ve been on stage a couple times in my life. More than that really. I’ve met a couple people in my life. More than that really. But do I smile? No, I’m not the smiling type. I rarely smile on stage. I rarely smile just for the sake of smiling.
But smiling matters. For all of you in these examples, thank you. For all of you who smile who I didn’t use as examples, thank you – I notice, other people notice, and even if no one did, it’s still better to smile.
In a world of non-smilers, of people who aren’t happy with life, smilers stand out. For someone as intensely happy as I am, it’s criminal for me not to smile. A straight face isn’t congruent with who I am.
Smiling is one of those small details with big results. That’s leverage. Try smiling without instantly feeling happier. Try smiling without instantly attracting amazing people. Try smiling [period].
Note to Marshall: I wrote this for you.
