If I slow my roll, I smell more roses.
There is a spoon
Today at lunch, a friend of mine who I know to be on a pescatarian diet order meatball bolognese. I asked him what was up.
He confided to me that he had been in a rut recently and that when he is down, his good habits tend to go out the window.
“Don’t worry though. When things get better, so will I,” he said.
I didn’t want to sermonize him, but my personal experience has made me very wary of tying my sense of worth to external events. I did it with my first company and I felt bi-polar as we experienced the natural ups and downs of startup life. Never again.
Science Says
Later today, I read another friend’s blog post about his trip to India, his experience with laughing meditation, and his realization that joy is an input not an output. It’s called “Smiling is a choice” and it’s worth a quick read. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’d like to share a little bit of science that backs up his observation that the body can lead the mind:
In college, I learned of a psychology experiment in which three randomly chosen groups of students were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The survey assessed a number of things, including happiness.
While filling out the survey, one third of the students held a pencil between their LIPS. One third held a pencil between their TEETH. The remaining third ate an apple.
The survey results showed no difference between groups except on one dimension: Happiness. The TEETH group reported above average happiness, the LIPS group below average happiness, and the apple-eating (control) students reported average happiness.
Why? When you hold a pencil between your TEETH, you form a SMILE. Conversely, when you hold a pencil between your LIPS, you make a FROWN. Mood affects your physical state as we all know, but apparently your physical state can affect your mood (i.e. causation runs in both directions).
Matter over mind
Ever since that lesson, I’ve tried to be more attuned to my body-mind connection. If my shoulders are heading for my ears, I let them down to instantly feel more relaxed. When I sit straight up at a meeting, I begin to feel more alert. If I broaden my chest, I feel more powerful.
If I slow my roll, I smell more roses.