Barbara Fredrickson in her book ‘Positivity’ says it is not enough to simply look like you are happy, or to just utter words of joy, but to genuinely feel positivity at a deeper level. “Heartfelt Positivity” is her mantra.
If you display a ‘smiley face’ to the world, but you are feeling stress inside and your cortisol levels are high, these conflicting states are dishonest and disingenuous. More than that, they are unhealthy for you. A study at Duke University Medical Center of male coronary patients showed a correlation between 2 kinds of facial expressions of emotions and the occurrence of silent ischemic episodes. Facial expressions of anger predicted myocardial ischemia, as expected. What was surprising was that so did ‘non-enjoyment smiles’. Fredrickson calls this insincere positivity. “If anger kills, then this new research shows that insincere positivity may kill too”.
When expressing joyful emotions be sure it is what you feel deep down inside of you. It is dangerous to your health to pretend to look happy to meet social expectations when in fact you are feeling negativity or plain old neutrality on the inside. It takes self-awareness and honesty to engage what is known as the Duchenne smile. It involves contraction of two sets of facial muscles simultaneously. Those that raise the corners of the mouth and those that raise the cheeks, forming crinkles around the eyes. “Smiling with the eyes” indicates genuine enjoyment. That’s a Duchenne smile.
Positivity can be rare, fleeting and at times mild, but for it to be real it has to run deep. Frequency, duration and intensity of positive emotions tend to be less by nature, but the depth of positive emotions can be large. It is critical that they rise like a well spring from deep within, earnest, warm and sincere.
The Benefits of Sincere Positivity according to Fredrickson:
1 It feels good
2 It changes how your mind works
3 It transforms your future
4 It puts the brakes on negativity
5 It obeys a tipping point
6 You can increase your positivity
Look for further discussions on these facts. In the meantime, set aside the yellow smiley face and get in touch with your Duchenne smile.