A Smile Goes a Long Way!

I have heard many sociology students doing an assignment for class in which they are to smile randomly at strangers to see how the stranger reacts. Has anyone done a study to see how that same activity impacts the person who actually does the smiling all day??? Well I have, read on...

For some reason I have been in a bit of a running funk lately. It is not because I don't enjoy it, but rather because my body is not doing what I want it to do. Part of it could be the foot problem I am having, or it could be a simple mental block but I do know that it has been more and more difficult to get my miles in as comfortably as before.

I have probably talked about this before but one of the most satisfying feelings during a race is encouraging other participants in passing by smiling or cheering on their effort. My running buddy and I ran a 10 miler a few weeks ago, and man has she gotten fast! She said to me at the end of the race that when she started feeling like she was hitting a wall, she would simply smile and it would improve her outlook. It again reminded me that I can not get down when the running gets tough but instead push through it with a smile.

I was having a particularly difficult run on Saturday. It was my last long run before the half marathon on Saturday and every time I started to feel slightly miserable I would put that big Sarah smile across my face and say to myself 'you can do this' and push on. So here is another poem for the week:

A Smile Goes a Long Way

When in life you're feeling down
Put on a big smile, not a frown

Start out small when your driving your car
Smile on that drive so it doesn't seem so far

When your running and your feet are sore
Put on that smile before you close the running door

Mind blocking motivation making you sad?
Put on a big smile and it won't feel so bad

Fall off your bike and scrape your leg
Smile at yourself rather than drink from a keg

So in conclusion don't ever give up
Smile a bit and pet your pup

Always remember a smile goes a long way
Try it out on a very bad day

Also if you are ever looking for a video to improve your mood, this DMB video always makes me happy:

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