Serve with a Smile

With the conclusion of the Christmas break, we are slowly starting to slide back into our school routines. I hope everyone had a restful break and is ready to get back to work and being like Bosco. This quarter our guiding action is to Serve with a Smile. If you are still hunting for a New Year's Resolution, this might be the one for you: to serve others and do so with a smile on your face. Actually completing acts of service can be difficult to schedule into your life--almost as hard as keeping resolutions that last past January (just notice how much the Y clears out in February!).

Think of these three tips so that your service -- and your resolutions -- just might stick:

1) Keep It Small--keeping the end goal in mind is important, but you have to start the journey to reach the destination. Plan those first steps and milestones along the way. 

2) Keep It Swift--I am not suggesting that you recklessly make decisions or speed through a project to get finished. Rather, I am suggesting you make a plan and swiftly take action. 

3) Keep Your Smile--Numerous studies have shone that the simple act of smiling releases chemicals in our brains that relieve stress and anxiety. There is also a Swedish study in the attached article which found that people rated pictures of those who smiled as more attractive than pictures of people who didn't.  Now you know why I try to smile so much in the car line; I need every advantage I can get.  Finally, another study showed that seeing someone else smile triggers a response in our brains to return the smile. Therefore, if you smile at someone you are helping your health and that of another person. 

 

That seems like a simple, small, and swift New Year's Resolution. Forget the no-carb diet, the cardiac crossfit class, and the marathon you signed up for to motivate you off the couch. See how much you can improve your health and that of others this year by just giving a few smiles a day.

Happy New Year!