SMILE! :D

Do not find the reason to smile, just find the way.

- Gaurav M.

Happy Tuesday, blog buddies!! It's a pretty dreary cloudy Minnesota day, but instead of sporting gray and a pout, I've decided to rock yellow and a smile. :)  I woke up this morning, just feeling like today was going to be not-so-bad, and wanted to capture that feeling while it lasted. They say any given day is going to be what you make it to be... I don't know if that's true. Sometimes, you have a great day and just cannot manage to make yourself feel happy about it. That's fine. My quote today said it all: you don't need to have a reason behind a smile and you don't even necessarily have to feel happy to smile. There are times when you are just going to have to grin and bear it, and it's times like that when you need to make the effort to at least appear approachable.

For instance, I mentioned that I have been going through some hard times recently, but at my job I am constantly dealing with people. A sour-puss face and red, teary eyes not only looks unprofessional, but it really brings other people's moods down and causes social awkwardness. This is a tough lesson at times. True, we are all entitled to our feelings and to take days off to tend to those emotions, but when we return to real life, it is important to greet it with a smile and behave as normal as possible. Reserve the anger and sadness for behind closed doors, when you can. I'm not saying this to sound insensitive; it's just a lesson that I recently learned and wanted to share (That's what this blog is all about, isn't it?). The bottom line is this: sometimes you just have to make it through the day. Not saying you need to be phony, and that you can't deal with your issues semi-publicly by discussing it with friends and co-workers, but I've found that if you put on a brave face and force yourself through the tough day, you'll find that it gets easier with every passing day and truly helps in the healing process.


So how can you find ways to smile? I like to look through old photo albums and find smiling pictures with friends that bring back happy memories. Or go on to silly websites that have pictures of baby animals- those always get me. What's your way of getting through the tough times with a brave face?? Things have been getting easier for me every day and my friends, both in person and in blogging, have been a great support system. Hopefully this message brings a little knowledge with it and inspires people to smile through the pain. Everyone looks ten times more beautiful when they smile (That's just a little beauty tip from me to you- haha!).

Smile, friend!
P!