We’ve all heard it before. Fake it till you make it. Smile to feel happier.
It is the advice we often hear when we are feeling down and want to shift our mood.
This week, I experienced the opposite.
Yesterday morning, I looked in the mirror, and smiling was physically difficult.
On Tuesday, I had a small procedure on my eyelid. It was swollen, a bit droopy, with a band-aid, and a sore on my inner lip (unrelated, and very annoying) made smiling feel unnatural.
The reflection caught me off guard. I looked sad.
But when I checked in with myself, that is not how I felt.
I was actually relieved. The procedure was behind me, the swelling had already gone down from the day before, and there was no black eye. I had a good night’s sleep, even though I had to keep my head elevated. I was okay.
Still, seeing my face made me pause. It reminded me how much our physical state shapes what we experience and even what we think we are feeling.
We know from research that physiology and mood are connected. Smiling can lift our mood. Posture can shift our energy. Our body sends signals to our brain all the time.
But in that moment, I experienced the reverse. My face told a story that did not match how I felt inside.
And that is where choice comes in.
I paused and asked myself, what do I want today to feel like?
Yesterday I rested on the couch, recovering. But today was a new day.
So I chose to smile. It was a bit awkward, a bit forced.
I put on some lip gloss (none of my usual eye makeup this week), took my coffee outside, sat in the sun, smiled, and let the day begin.
And something shifted.
It reminded me that while our physical state influences us, we are not at its mercy. We can also influence it back.
Sometimes the work is internal. Shifting our thoughts, our perspective.
And sometimes it starts with something simple and physical. A smile. A breath. Stepping outside.
Both are available to us.
So if your reflection ever tells a story that does not feel quite right, pause.
Check in with yourself, not just what you see.
And then choose what you want to create next.
What kind of day do you want to create?
