There are things in my life that I can’t help – something that I both like and don’t like doing, which affect my life in multiple ways. The ‘thing’ that I am talking about is my smiling. If there is something anyone would tell you about me, I am always smiling. I smile daily, 24/7, even when there isn’t anything to smile about.
I find it hard not to smile, it comes naturally to me, and I genuinely cannot help it. Many people have asked me why I smile so much, and I always say that I can’t help it – and that’s the truth. It’s the same with me saying thank you or sorry, even when I don’t need to – saying thank you or sorry is like word vomit for me – and smiling all the time is the same.
I smile through every aspect of my life – or at least try to. Every day things are happening in the world that wouldn’t cause anyone to smile. The world is dark and gloomy, so I try to smile about anything and everything to feel better about my days in a dark, dark world.
I tend to hide how I feel through my smile. I could be upset about something, but I’d instead smile and deal with it internally than say anything. This was not a healthy way of dealing with things, as keeping things to myself internally had a negative impact on me mentally. People can only hold so much to themselves and internalise things for so long – until they release it incorrectly. My way of releasing it would be taking it out on other people around me – letting it get on top of me.
Smiling constantly can be both positive and negative for me in my life. Positive because people have found it easy to approach, converse and get along with me – and thought who know me know that I try my best to have positive energy and vibes around people for them to feel comfortable around me – and that starts with a smile.
Negative because people tend to blur the lines and take my smiling and being nice for granted – seeing it as a weakness. People take advantage of those who are kind and nice to them; it happens more often than you would think, whether intentional or unintentional. Having been in situations where it has been taken for granted – I can tell and feel when it is being taken advantage of, and I automatically know when to step back.
Another negative is that people will use the fact that I always smile to not take me seriously in any situation, mainly when I am genuinely serious. This has caused me many arguments with people in my life as I take offence to not being taken seriously. Just because I smile a lot does not mean that I can never be serious about things.
I want to end this post by saying that if you naturally are a smiler, keep smiling. Don’t let what other people say stop you from having a smile on your face. If smiling gets you through the day, keep smiling. If it makes you feel good, keep doing it, and if it makes you happy, don’t stop.
Use your smile to change the world, don’t let the world change your smile.