A New Manner? Smile!!

Just read an article – ok, a little crazy that it was a “Dear Abby” newspaper advice column – but the woman who wrote it told Dear Abby that something she had read 20 years ago had changed her life. Unsure of herself as a Middle School student, she happened to read a Dear Abby column that offered advice to another reader recommending that one should “smile and greet people every day.”   This writer said she took that advice and it changed her life.  She started to smile at the world, became involved in activities in school, made friends, and was elected student body president. She now has children, has a master’s degree, and is a public speaker, poet and actor.  She says it was all because Dear Abby wrote about how important it is to smile.

Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buron © 2011) responds to this writer saying that she is glad her advice has been so impactful.  She says that no matter what you wear, “the expression on your face is your greatest asset – or liability.”  She asks whether you would rather start a conversation with someone who looks like they are mad at the world or someone who looks like they’re happy to see you - even if they don’t know you.

Dear Abby says she isn’t suggesting to be phony, but if you develop a habit of looking cheerful and happy, “it attracts.”  She says that there are two kinds of people who can walk into any room – one walks in and says, “Here I am…” The other walks in and says,  “There you are...”

Which one do you think is the winner?  Abby says, “If you want to receive a warm welcome, remember the happier you are to see others, the happier they’ll be to see you.”  I will add to that advice with my car's bumper sticker:  BE NICE.  The footnote to the bumper sticker should be: it makes you feel like you’re helping the world be a better place!