17 things to make you smile

With the inspiration of a new year and fresh starts, I’m exploring self-help techniques to enhance my life and today I’m thinking about things to make you smile.

Smiling and laughing is so important, but sometimes it’s like we have to remind ourselves to do it every now and then. With the stresses of modern daily life, financial worries, work troubles and self-image issues that we carry around with us, we often find that we frown more than we smile. And it’s pretty obvious that when we smile, we’re happy and when we’re happy we feel better. So we need to keep smiling people!

I’m sure there’s some impressive scientific reasoning behind this theory, including releases of serotonins in the body etc, but I’m no expert. All I know is that in 2014 I’m going to be utilising self-help techniques that will help me remain a positive and strong person and achieve all the things that I want to in life. And smiling helps. Even when you feel sad, smiling can help make you feel happy. It makes others around you feel happy and you’re way more attractive when you smile!

So on those days where you wake up and feel a bit low, stressed or like your mind is clouded with worries…try to smile. And here’s a few things that might help:

Call or text a good friend that you know will cheer you up
Treat yourself to one of your favourite snacks (a bit cheeky I know, but guaranteed to work…mine’s Fry’s Turkish Delight…never fails to make me smile)
Take a look at those notes that you’re keeping of positive thoughts (point 1 in 10 ways to make 2014 the best)
If it’s sunny outside, make sure you take a good stroll (at lunch time if you’re working). Even just 10 minutes will make a big difference
If you’ve got a dog or cat, give them a proper cuddle and belly rub. Seeing their happiness cannot fail to make you smile (might work on the husband too!)
Put your favourite song on and crank it up good and loud. Dancing around the room like no one is watching is one of the best feelings out there
Flick through some of your favourite photo albums (I always look at my Wedding Photos when I’m feeling a bit blue)
Get dressed-up. When you look good, you feel good. Put on that outfit that fits you perfectly, that you feel really confident and hot in (I sometimes do this, even when I’m not going out…but lets keep that between me and you)
Get your hair done. Everyone feels happier with fresh hair!
Donate to charity. Helping others is selfishly very gratifying and is a great way to feel good while making a difference in someone else’s life. It’s also a great way to put some of our worries into perspective
Exercise. As much as it pains some of us, we know it’s good for us! If you’re anything like me, you’ll also have a smug smile on your face when you actually bother going to that exercise class
Create a Pinterest board of images you find that make you smile. You can then always use this as a quick reference when you’re feeling down
Get a good night’s sleep. Is it just me or are you way more of a morning person when you’ve had a good 8 hours kip?!
Invite a friend around for dinner
Plan a holiday. Even if you’re not going to book it yet, it’s always nice to focus on something positive that you know you will enjoy
Take a silly, overly-smiley-faced selfie
Get tucked-up on the couch (duvet and bottle of wine optional) and watch your favourite film. My usual feel-good choices are: Dirty Dancing, The Holiday, Love Actually, Singin’ in the Rain…