When I started writing this blog post it was generic. It had a strong message but it really didn’t truly speak to what I was trying to say.
And then something happened.
I received a voice note from a mate. As per my morning ritual, between double checking I hadn’t been subtweeted or rolling my eyes at a Facebook status – I took a listen. The voice note was telling me about someone else’s plan to create content that sounded awfully familiar to mine. The mate wanted to know if I was mad? Was I angry? What was I going to do?
My immediate reaction was to start smashing away furiously in an angry reply but not before logging in to a web browser on my phone to double check that said content hadn’t gone up yet. I walked from my car in the car park, into an elevator, through security access, in to another lift, down a passage and in to my office without ever once looking up from my device. The entire time scowling at the tiny screen.
The irony is that I arrived at my desk to an email from AlternaTV with the final copy of a video I’d recently made – a video where I took on a bit of a public service to encourage people to look up from their devices and smile – because a smile can change your entire day.
I am so incredibly proud of the video and grin every time I watch it. Despite feeling like a bear with a thorn in her paw, I opened the video and, by the time it was done, was smiling. Funny, because the moment I smiled I suddenly felt like a giant weight lifted off my shoulders. Why was my mate sending me gossip that would obviously hurt and upset me? Why was I getting upset about someone doing a similar idea to me? Surely that is an indication that the idea was good! Hell, who was I to think that I was so important that someone bigger and far more successful than I was “copying” me? How silly!
And that’s really the just of the power of a smile.
Smiles seem to just give your brain a chemical injection and click a switch that lets the light flood in and chases out the dark shadows of your day. It has the power to completely change your view on things for the better. And obviously, they’re contagious. When you’re smiling it automatically spreads to the people around you.
A smile has the power to make you a better person and re-evaluate how you handle moments in your life.
Dentyne recently released new packaging for their chewing gum. It’s a rather sexy new look and more appealing because the entire range is sugar free and contains Xylitol (Banting babes are getting excited). But more than new packaging, Dentyne has launched #DentyneSmile – a campaign I’ve blogged about before. I love that they’re supporting women and empowering them.
But it is more the message behind the branding that I care about.
The idea that a smile has the power to improve your day, improve your mind set and help you achieve your dreams is something I can completely buy in to, because it changed my mind set and allowed me to see the positive of a situation rather than feed the darkness.
On that topic, here is the video I was chatting about earlier. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. If you did, don’t forget to subscribe:
How has the power of your smile helped you? Let me know in the comments below.
