We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.  – Mother Teresa

Today I want to share one of my best experiences with you – all the beautiful people out there! But before we start, as we are meeting after a short break; I want to tell you that I MISSED YOU. I truly miss my GupShup with you all. This website is – now – an endless journey of my life I guess. When I don’t write, I feel I am disconnected with you all amazing people out there! And then, suddenly from nowhere, few people come and tell me; “You write amazing on GupShup” – and I am all set! Ready to fly one more time, even if I don’t feel like. THANK YOU for being such a positive personality. I adore you all.

SMILE PLEASE…!

Ya, so this article is all about SMILE as the title suggests. Last month, on 12th November, on the occasion of my birthday, I decided to change my life a little. When I was in my late teens, people used to call me ‘baby bindass’ as I was fearless and full of life! A few months back I realized that I actually feel awkward and avoid many important interactions! My friends who know me well couldn’t believe that I can be this much introvert! Once upon a time ‘Be Original’ was my motto and the worst part was, I started losing my originality. Bad choice. Soooooooo, I took a small step!

I decided to smile. Smile; neither in front of the camera or the mirror – but in front of people. Even if they are strangers – I smile. And trust me guys – IT IS DIFFICULT. We may think that it is one of the simplest things, but it’s not! TRY. When we are out of our homes, we are out from our comfort zone and then, the real struggle starts! I chose to do this particular thing because I believe it is the best way to overcome my temporary ‘introvert-ness.’

Coming back to my experiment, there were several stages…

1. First of all, I have to convince myself that I should do that, I must do that, I have to do that, I am going to do that, and no matter what happens – I WILL DO THAT. In the process of changing self, self-talk is the only thing we need! It took 3 days to convince myself that I have to smile in front of people! (Majority of us don’t smile in front of strangers and some of us even change the routes when they see someone is coming! Imagine how un-cool we have become!)
2. Then I cleared my mind from all the doubts and ‘log kya kahengey’ stuff and started smiling to the people I see every day but never smiled. Like, to the watchmen of all the colonies near me, to the housemaids, to the drivers, to the people who clean cars, to sweepers, to the aunties who sell fruits, etc. They are damn beautiful – inside out! They give instant replies and smile wider – important to boost up confidence.
3. After a few days of this positivity, I felt free to smile to the people who share the same walking/exercising time on my daily walking path. Initially, that was extremely awkward as they all were feeling awkward. “Why this silly girl is smiling at us like this?” LOL. I was literally shivering at that time. It was awkwardly funny. But then, I saw a Granny, who always wish everyone ‘Jai Shree Krushn’ every day, without fail. She was my instant motivation at that time and so, I continued.
4. Finally, people started noticing my effort (and realized that even if this girl looks like a real mess, she is on something good.) They started smiling back. I feel sooo good nowadays, not because I had a successful experiment with myself and finally be able to find that confidence which I have lost – to talk to people, and spreading smiles, But because those people who never smiled even a single time in front of strangers, smile at me! Achievement unlocked!

Guys, when it comes to smiling; be like children. They are insanely energetic and positive. They always smile, laugh, play, and never care about ‘log kya sochengey, log kya kahengey’ stuff. We have actually lost our spark after growing up. Find that again. I DID IT! Yesterday, I saw this short film on kindness. It is quite similar to my ‘Smile Please’ experiment. Have a look!