Smile!

[Jaimey]

You didn't make me relive any past traumas either.  Being able to talk about these things is a positive thing, I think. 

Besides, Simone, I think it's impossible for you to make anyone feel bad!  Everything you write is positive and your smile in your picture is contagious! 

[Pica Pica]

She told me I could do/be anything I wanted. Since I wasn't living up to my potential, I must be intentionally failing to hurt the family and especially her.

I still receive that wisdom when I meet up with my own parental type units. I had a conversation when I last visited them that started, 'Now I know me and Mum brought you up, so I suppose it's our fault but....' and so on.

I have a tendency to pull faces or try and look serious in photomagraphs, I smile a lot but can't even come closer to faking one.

[Just Kate]

I was tempted to put up an 'oh so serious' picture on here for my profile, but my wife strongly encouraged me to use the overly-dorky smiley' one that you can see to the left because she says it is how I most often appear.

My parents didn't teach me to smile, but I found I could brighten a room if I did.

[almost,angie]

I would smile all the time. i was a happy baby. As I got older I started to not smile as much. I remember hating getting my hair cut very young and that pretty much made me hate my parents. I think my daughters would feel the same way if I made them cut there hair. I had to have a 50`s style cut in the 70`s. How F`ed up is that for a little girl??LOL I smile all the time again but people always ask me what I`m so happy about. kind of makes me wish I didn`t.

[Jaimey]

I'm glad you said that, Angie (the thing about smiling all the time now).

I smile all the time now too, but it's because I'm a happier person (not because of all the stuff in my first post).  I always find a reason to be happy and to smile. 

[Eva Marie]

Someone said that "most people are about as happy as they decide to be". Thats a profound statement if you think about it. It says that on most days we choose what persona we're gonna put on when we get up, be it the grumpy, frowning one, or the happy, smiling one. Grumpier is easier, happier is harder.

Since i've heard this statement i've made a conscious effort to be a happier, smiling person, trying to reject negativity out of my life.

[Nicky]

has it worked?

[Eva Marie]

has it worked?

Yes, actually it has. When I put on my happy attitude in the morning I find that I stay away from "stinkin thinkin" and self defeating thoughts & attitudes. This of course carries into my interactions with others. I'm not trying to be flip or anything, it is just something that works for me.

[Jaimey]

has it worked?

It works for me too.  I'm a lot happier now that I only allow positive thoughts.  I let go of all the bad stuff and I feel much better.

[Pica Pica]

i think happiness is something that can be chosen.

[Osiris]

I went through a time where I was depressed for a couple of years. During Christmas one year my mom told me to smile to which I replied, I don't feel like smiling so I won't. Her mood went down hill as did everyone else's who came in contact with me that year. As I went into the new year I realized that my depression was effecting others so I decided to be happy. It took a lot of effort but things slowly improved.

Of course years later I relapsed since I didn't really deal with my issues and instead repressed them. But I'm getting better at dealing with them now... I think. <_<

[Kinkly]

Smile it makes people wonder what you you've been up to

[ZaidaZadkiel]

When I was a child, I would just randomly cry.
I think I don't know how to deal with my feelings and the internet tells me that it's because they are "too intense".

Once when I cried my mother took me in front of a mirror and told me how ugly I looked.

So I learned to not cry.

It's been hard to unlearn that one!

Last year I decided I was tired of being depressed and that I would try to do something about it, and I have been doing it.

Emotions are a very strange thing and I don't really understand them. I feel as if I am just unaware of how does one deal with emotions ... there's just no information about it in my head.

In my teenager years, I became a shut-in (I still am.) so I didn't really noticed other people until like my 20s or something. So my "people dealing" module is very empty.

Since I learned I was tired of being sad, I've been purposely smiling to people on the street, it makes me feel good.

It's not a fake smile, either. It's like,
cross your path with a random stranger
look at the person in the eyes
wait until they look at you
SMILE
go your own way.

feels good man.

[Saraloop]

i think happiness is something that can be chosen.

Definitly.
The only problem is when you've accidentally let negative feelings slip too many times into your subconscious and accidentally programmed your mind to automatically be negative... that takes a bit of patience to reprogram, but it's feasible. You just have to notice the triggers or the reasoning behind the process and constantly try to attach to those processes the idea that the reasoning is invalid and it's not worth it because being happy is better regardless of the situation, and then little by little the negativity diminishes more and more as you understand better how the feeling rises up, and convince yourself to let it go, up to the point where you can let yourself be happy at any point.  ..

It's not a fake smile, either. It's like,
cross your path with a random stranger
look at the person in the eyes
wait until they look at you
SMILE
go your own way.

That's something I still have trouble with. Passing by people walking feels like such an odd situation for some reason and I don't smile or anything and I end up feeling uncomfortable. A part of me wants to smile, but another part wants to be fine not smiling too... eeh 

[KYLYKaHYT]

That's something I still have trouble with. Passing by people walking feels like such an odd situation for some reason and I don't smile or anything and I end up feeling uncomfortable. A part of me wants to smile, but another part wants to be fine not smiling too... eeh 

I'll smile at women (and a few softer-looking guys) when I encounter them walking, but I avoid even making eye contact with most males. It just seems prudent. Even if they don't read me, guys tend to get funny (Read: sexual) ideas about women who acknowledge - and smile - at them.   

[Saraloop]

mm. it usually doesn't matter who it is for me.. though I think the older they are, the less uncomfortable I am.
I dunno. Maybe I should try and train my smile more.. :/

Sometimes I'll just pass and look half way towards them, and if they stare at me I'll look at them and try to read them ; if they smile I'll smile, or if they say hello, I'll say hello. If they're walking a dog, I'll just look at the dog. 
..Such a simple encounter as passing someone shouldn't be complicated, I don't know why it's become that way .. egh

[ZaidaZadkiel]

I'll smile at women (and a few softer-looking guys) when I encounter them walking, but I avoid even making eye contact with most males. It just seems prudent. Even if they don't read me, guys tend to get funny (Read: sexual) ideas about women who acknowledge - and smile - at them.   

I haven't had any odd experience when smiling to random people.
I used to get shy with guys, but I no longer do.
..In any case I'm bi, so that might help me being comfortable smiling to people ... hum

[KYLYKaHYT]

I haven't had any odd experience when smiling to random people.
I used to get shy with guys, but I no longer do.
..In any case I'm bi, so that might help me being comfortable smiling to people ... hum

Yeah, I'm bi too, but I still like to publicly present myself as a good girl.

Even if it is just a ruse. 

The thing is, I live in a rural, very redneck area and it just isn't good form for a girl to to act too friendly towards some of these guys.
Especially a girl with a weenie. 

[V M]

Yup, girls with a weenie may get a negative reaction when googling eyed dude figures that much out. I tend to smile, but not get too friendly 

[Jaimey]

I smile at everybody.  But it's just the "hey, i see you and this is all the greeting i can muster" smile.  I'm from the country originally, where you wave at every vehicle that goes by if you're in the yard, so it's pretty natural for me.

I get into trouble because I'll talk to anybody as well.  The other day in the paranormal group I'm in, I talked a lot to a guy who's about my age and I'm afraid he's going to start liking me (he's one of the lonely weird guys that most girls never speak to...).  I was just being friendly and figuring out where he falls on the BS meter (oh, he's so deep in it...)...that gets me into far more trouble than smiling.