Can you detect if someone is trying to fool you with a fake smile? We all do it, attempting to show others how happy we are while we're actually feeling less than fabulous, despite the fact that phony grins are easy to spot. Unfortunately, every artificial smile we put on makes us feel a little bit worse.
When you're faking it, everyone can tell.
Do you think you've mastered the art of faking a smile? You're not as good as you think you are. Everyone around you can probably tell when you're trying to put on a pleasant face. Genuine grins are distinct from forced smiles, and it's easy to recognize the difference.
When we smile, the pleasurable emotions we experience send a signal to the left anterior temporal region of our brain. Two muscle groups react to good feelings: our cheeks, which draw our face muscles back and bend our lips upwards, and our eye sockets, which squint the corners of our eyes and form those little smile wrinkles.
When you put on a phony smile, the results are slightly different. Other facial muscles are used to replicate the movement of our cheek and eye socket muscles rather than our cheek and eye socket muscles. Eye-muscle grins, as well as full-face smiles, are difficult to achieve. It fails to measure up—and often leaves our eyes out of the motion entirely—without genuine enjoyment and emotion behind the smile.
Smiles aren't always enough to make us happy.
Plastering a phony smile on your face may fool people into thinking you're in a good mood, but it won't have the same effect on you. Faking a grin has a negative impact on our happiness. People who grin sincerely, even if it is only once in a while, are more satisfied and happy with their lives.
Negative emotions tend to focus our attention and encourage us to act in certain ways, whilst pleasant emotions broaden our horizons. In general, having a positive mood and outlook allows us to recognize new connections, absorb information more effectively, and solve issues in novel ways. People who are generally more positive are more socially and intellectually engaged throughout their lives. Positive emotions, of course, lead to genuine smiles, and the more genuine smiles we have, the better our mood and outlook become.
Stop feigning your emotions.
Although it's tempting to grin weakly every time you meet someone new or are greeted as you enter a store, limiting the quantity of phony smiles you give out will help you feel better.
If you're someone who slaps on a smile every time you talk to others, stick with your "normal" face. Smile when happiness hits you, not in an effort to look more pleasant and agreeable. Even if you're not typically "smiley," it's in your best interests to exhibit genuine feelings rather than fake ones.
Remember that a natural, whole-face smile both expresses your joy and attracts others' attention. After all, who wants to be recognized as a phony every time they smile?
Essentially, smiling is about more than just looking good in pictures. Genuine smiles can make you a happier, more contented individual with more to look forward to.