Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to change the mood of everyone around
Speaker 1: you with a simple strategy greet people with a smile.
Speaker 1: I was reminded of this strategy recently while reading Audrey
Speaker 1: Monkey's book, Happy Campers. Monkey is the director of the
Speaker 1: Gold Arrow Camp in California. The vast majority of children
Speaker 1: love summer camp, and in the book Happy Campers, Monkey
Speaker 1: explores the reasons for this and how it can transfer
Speaker 1: those lessons to normal home and work life. A key
Speaker 1: finding a good camp has a relentlessly positive atmosphere. The
Speaker 1: counselors make every child feel welcome, Positive, pure interactions are encouraged,
Speaker 1: and yes, the focus is on fun activities, but even
Speaker 1: when people are making up their bunk beds, the focus
Speaker 1: is on being upbeat. Not all of life can be
Speaker 1: sunshine and rainbows, but Monkey writes in her book that
Speaker 1: being aware of your moods and making a commitment to
Speaker 1: small positive acts can go a long way. I can
Speaker 1: feel it when I've sucked the fun out of the
Speaker 1: room for my family members because of my own bad mood.
Speaker 1: Monkey writes. Conversely, parents who model positive emotions and interactions
Speaker 1: the majority of the time have kids who do the same.
Speaker 1: It starts with a simple smile, and maybe you're not
Speaker 1: a natural smiler, but Monkey says that's okay. You can
Speaker 1: start the habit by giving your family members a smile
Speaker 1: at four specific times. First when you greet them in
Speaker 1: the morning to start the day, Second, when you greet
Speaker 1: them after school or work, or any time after not
Speaker 1: seeing them for a while. Third, during at least one
Speaker 1: conversation when you're looking them in the eyes, And finally
Speaker 1: at bedtime when you tuck them in to say good night.
Speaker 1: Four smiles a day is not that tough. I'd add
Speaker 1: that you can do this with other people in your
Speaker 1: life too. If you're ordering coffee or showing your bus
Speaker 1: pass to someone every morning, be sure to smile as
Speaker 1: you're doing so. Any regulars on your commute can be greeted. Similarly,
Speaker 1: the receptionist or security guard at your office deserves a
Speaker 1: big smile rather than that hunkered down, pained look some
Speaker 1: people have as if they're headed into labor in the
Speaker 1: salt mines for the day. Smile as you say hello
Speaker 1: to your colleagues smile when you pay for your lunch
Speaker 1: in the cafeteria. You don't actually have to be in
Speaker 1: a good mood. This is a two second investment in
Speaker 1: limiting the extent of whatever personal rain cloud is following
Speaker 1: you around. And you know what, there's always the chance
Speaker 1: that that two seconds smile will improve your mood too.
Speaker 1: There's some interesting research finding that when people are asked
Speaker 1: to hold a pen or a pop stick in their
Speaker 1: mouths in a way that forces their lips into a smile,
Speaker 1: they actually do feel better. And since a smile costs
Speaker 1: absolutely nothing, there's really no downside to giving it a try.
Speaker 1: So how will you make sure you give your force
Speaker 1: smiles today? More is better, but I'm pretty sure you
Speaker 1: can manage four in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com That Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, Should
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.