How to be happy in an instant

[dragonyphoenix]

In his book The As If Principle, Richard Wisemen provides method acting instructions that, if you follow them, really will make you feel happier.

1. Sit in front of a mirror. (Note: I tried it without the mirror and it worked fine.)


2. Relax the muscles in your forehead and cheeks, and let your mouth drop slightly open.


3. Contract the muscles near the corners of your mouth by drawing them back toward your ears. Make the resulting smile as wide as possible and try to ensure that the movement of the cheeks produces wrinkling around the base of your eyes. Finally, extend your eyebrow muscles slightly upward and hold the resulting expression for about twenty seconds.


4. Let the expression drop from your face and think about how you feel.

The first time I tried it, I suddenly found it very funny that I was holding my face in such an odd position.