The idea that I’m happy all the time (a reflection on smiling too much:)

A couple of months ago, a colleague shared with me that she didn’t know how to relate to me because I always had a smile on my face.

This comment really gave me pause. I had to ask myself, “Was my smile genuine? Did my smile truly reflect how I felt on the inside?”

Often smiling is a function of our upbringing. It’s ingrained in us at an early age. This maybe more true for me than most, since my childhood home was also a Bed and Breakfast.

Smiling was part of my job description. 🙂

I admit, it’s sometimes my default response to smile.

However, my colleague’s comment made me do a bit of soul-evaluation. I came to the conclusion that my smile is most-often a true and natural reflection of who I am. I am a glass-half-full-kinda-gal.

But being present means it’s ok to feel and express all our emotions. Even the ones we often suppress like, anger or sadness. We absolutely must give ourselves permission to not smile all the time!

So here’s a little test…

The next time someone asks you, “How are you?” carefully consider your answer.

The knee-jerk response for most of us is, “I’m fine. How are you?”

When I’m asked this, I pause and respond truthfully and catch someone off guard when I say things like, “You know I’m struggling a bit today with ________.” Or, “I realized the news story I saw this morning has really made me feel sad.”

Next time you get asked this question, stop and tune in with how you are in that present moment. Respond genuinely, honestly.

When you do, something amazing happens.

It opens up genuine and authentic conversation.

It gives the other person permission to be honest with you in return.

Let’s practice…

“How are you?”

Hit REPLY and let me know!

To your honest and unbounded potential,

P.S. Even though I’m still in India, I would still love to know your responses. Don’t be shy! How are you?