The Men of Iron Minute

by Chad Zueck | Director of Content Creation

A Good Laugh

Do you know anyone who smiles or laughs a lot? You know the type. They can be obnoxious, misunderstood, and mysteriously magnetic at the same time. They seem to live as if they aren’t bogged down by the burdens of life or the triviality of petty arguments. They are the type of humans I want to be around. A couple of weeks ago, I had a striking conversation with a guy like this. We were bantering back and back as men do. The conversation was like a piñata that showered more and more laughter. Nothing inappropriate. No locker room talk. He was hilarious, and when he laughed, everyone heard. Like a river weaving its way down a mountainside, our conversation was a cascade of jokes and laughter. My father-in-law is a mutual friend, so that gave plenty of material for our comedic relief. We all had effortless grins!

Remember when you were a kid, and your mom told you to smile for a picture? You probably hated it. I hated it too. There was nothing more painful to me than smiling on command. It seemed fake, but somehow moms everywhere still make these silly demands—side note. My smile was lopsided all through childhood. One side was normal, and the other was not. One high. One low. Pretty tragic for a middle school boy, I might add. Not to worry, I learned of this imbalance and now overcompensate to deal with this ethical dilemma. Even so, I am not a fan of forced photos, but I am not an ogre, so I smile for pictures without complaint (most of the time). As it turns out, smiling is more than a parental torture technique.

Your brain throws a feel-good party every time you smile. A smile generates neural messages. These neural messages are keys to relieving stress, pain relief, and engaging feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. Amazingly, these neurotransmitters are released every-time-you-smile. And smiles are contagious! God has wired humans to smile when they see other people smile. What if it’s a divine conspiracy against pessimism and negativity? That may be a stretch, but this isn’t. The more you smile, the more others around you will smile. New York Times best-selling author Bob Goff has this effect on me. I read his books. I smile in wonder. I listen to him speak. I smile with ease. I watch him. His smile ignites my smile. His smile has probably ignited crooked smiles all over the world. His book, Love Does, inspired these questions.

• What if the best thing you could offer the world is a smile?
• What if your wife and kids needed more smiles than advice?
• What if your advice would be better heard after some belly laughter?

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Thich Nhat Hanh

Keep smiling.

Oh… and thanks, Mom!

Be a mentor.

Find a mentor.

Be a better man.

Contact our team today to find out how you can become a mentor, find a mentor and be a better man! And DO NOT forget to check out The Men of Iron Podcast – Encouragement That Works (EP. 89)

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