Day 24: Cheer up you bastards

I've had a love/hate relationship with psychology for years - I'll no doubt go into the hate one day - but what always amazes me the most is how frequently in the field you'll see years of scientific research discoving something that's been happily accepted as common sense for years. I think it's a testamant to how unknowingly brilliant we all are as a species; you might not have any proof to back that gut instinct of yours right now, but that's not to say that a scientist in 20 years time won't be able to explain it perfectly.

At the same time though, the word 'psychology' itself has had all sorts of negative effects on society - primarily fueling senselessly self-centred beliefs that we're all incredibly deep individuals with issues that must be carefully resolved through measured personal actions. It's because of this that we're often hugely skeptical and dismissive of any advice which seems too simplistic.

I've been guilty of this for years - one piece of advice i've found myself repeatedly snarling out over the years is this little gem:

"Smile!"

Smile? Fuck off.

Looking at it with a clued up 21st century head well screwed on, it's an immediately irritating piece of advice - the notion that such generic advice could help solve this specific problem implies that there's nothing unique about the predicament that's making you unhappy; an unpleasant slap in the face to your ego, which would much rather have a cup of tea and a cuddle. Lose the irritating social connotations behind being a grinny faced muppet however, and there's more to a smile than meets the eye...

This week I've been reading an excellent book called 0:59 - a piece of writing that effectively debunks a large quantity of feel-good self-help gunk with clearly structured empirical evidence. Most vitally however, it's helped me to bypass this arrogance and remind me of the importance of smiling.

Seriously, next time you're in a mess: Smile. You're angry, you're upset. Just smile.

No no no, not like that. Forget the sentiment right away; you can chuck that saccharin rubbish right out of the window - it's not required. None of that pass it on and change the world bullshit - it might be nice, but it's not what it's about - If you're going to take this seriously, I'd recommend you don't even do this in the presence of anyone else. Find yourself a quiet spot out of the sight of anyone - possibly whilst you're on the toilet - and just grin like a bastard. Not just for a moment, either - it's important that you maintain the smile for a full minute, at least.

Amazingly, this alone tends to make you feel immediately happy - do it a few times a day, and you're genuinely sorted. No positive feedback from peers or warm fuzzy feelings required - just abuse your own muscles and trick your brain.

Give it a go, and let me know what you think.