What is your face saying? Which look would you prefer today? Why it might be the most important decision you make? Some have said that the thoughts you carry today create the face of your future – in so many ways. More informed ones say that it can change your life in just 7 days!

Do you believe any of that? I wasn’t so sure but sometime ago a hardened wish to live lighthearted made me curious enough take a shot at it.

I tried and it worked! Outside of few frenzied moments, this was no fun run though. Every so often it would be hard to hold on to my protesting wits while struggling not to shy away from trying.

Want to know how for yourself?

Two years ago on one wintry morning, as I sat in the front porch holding a cup of coffee in one hand and balancing the morning newspaper in my lap, I felt uneasy. Something was whetting up my thoughts since last evening. I could sense it; it was getting me worked up. I had woken early from an annoyingly bad dream of last night. I don’t know if it was a subjective response to a perturbed sleep or a dry sadness of the day- but I got nostalgic. The past flew back to me in a sec when life was all fun and games.

I had found a photo of me smiling big while combing through old family photo album the evening before. For some reason my sensibility had run crazy thereafter. The face that peered out just wouldn’t disappear. Nuts! It was kinda mocking me and wouldn’t let go. Even in bed it continued to spook me. I couldn’t make any sense of what I was dealing with. That pic had roiled up many memories. Whatever, for good or bad, it was distressing reliving those faded moments. And yet I could touch a bit of comfort in that flash back. For a moment it felt like a bridge that stretched back over to the good old days; a quite step outside of my comfort zone. It was upsetting though. Funny, remembrance was acting weird here.

I was saddened by how I appeared then. Surprisingly it wasn’t my hair or the cool swanky suit I was wearing that bothered me much; although some of that did make me wonder later what I was thinking then and why everything about me has changed so much now.

It was perhaps the countenance on my face that had knocked me over; a look that mirrored calmness and a glint of happiness in the corners of the eyes. While I did manage to keep my chin up in most snapshots thereafter, there’s been an evident lack of rejoice. The joy in the heart had given way to melancholy as if I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.

 My face mirrors my heart

If you can think of a struggle I have lived through all of it; disappointment, fear, anxiety, rejection, anger, bitterness, sadness and hopelessness. And every time I have mustered enough courage to work my way through. But somewhere along the way my heart ached and I realized that I couldn’t hide behind it any more. This was an uninvited nasty change and would mock me later every time I faced a lens. Every still was a cruel reminder that I could no longer laugh without the fear of the future. My face was beginning to reflect the brokenness in my heart. I kept praying for a better day and an even better tomorrow. Strength and help is what I quested to remove what did not reflect my countenance. I knew that I would find joy only when I could walk lighter, burden free and trust myself.

People have their own way of thinking and processing emotions but if you are not motivated heart-to-heart you’ll set yourself back full time!  To me it was like somebody telling me to let go of a relationship for which I was not ready and doing anything upfront to save it would be a useless exercise. I was distressed, knowing that I hadn’t quite “reached” myself. May be I felt that way because I was usually looking stressed.  I’d often have a negative expression on my face…you may call it a “No” face; one that has resigned to the fact that “you can’t win them all.” I just kept on doing what I was doing.

Until… one day I decided to confront myself. I said to me; “it’s time to move on joyfully”. Next, over the time I persuaded myself to act like I was in a good mood even if I woke up in a bad one. I practically attempted to let my body actually ‘fake-out’ my brains. Imperceptibly, the slow moving ice began to thaw. Guess, ‘Fake it till you make it’ was indeed beginning to work for my rescue! I had finally learned to live with my failings. When my TV broke down I’d no longer hit it in exasperation or breakdown in anger. Everything would suck but I’d still resist shouting. I would twirl and tell everybody that the TV’s working fine but something’s gone wrong with the power socket. Trust me; whenever I reacted like this, it’s impossible to feel stressed.

By substituting playful gestures for angry ones, my brain was short-circuiting my own stress!

I didn’t always think that all of it was true. Still the older I got, the more I believed that my choosing has a lot to do with it. This was a simple truth but took me pretty long time to own it.

Which face would you choose today?

Which kind of face would you rather have? The one that is furrowed with worry lines and frown grooves? Or the one with crow’s feet and laughter lines? Whatever’s your choice, scarily it’d determine how you have chosen your day to be like; a buoyed one or the one that sees you sullen and cross at all times.

Urgent things do pop up every day to demand our time and frenzied back-to-back work often means setting aside our conviviality. But prioritizing doesn’t mean reordering and letting our sullen old self ruin our day. You need to figure out what can be knocked off and how to say ‘no’ sometimes. Ask yourself;  “What’s the worst that could happen if I don’t do this; is there any other way to get this done or is there some way for me to half-do this and move on from it?”

I’m not sure if I ever again saw myself twirling around TV, but in reality this principle seemed to be at the heart of the way my body and mind worked together. The power that I see today in my hands feels amazing. For once I know how to look for the greatest way to perk up my day. Its okay if some days are bad but I guess without the tough ones it’s hard to appreciate the special ones.

So, look around you next time you’re out and about in a busy street. Even when people are lost in their own thoughts, not talking to anyone else, their face would tell you the story of their thoughts. You’ll know which thought and emotion you need to learn and practice more often if you’re to take your day beyond ordinary. Check it out – our emotional state is unshakable and hangs tough all over our faces for all to see. Changing your bearings and ‘wearing a different face’ would jump start your body chemistry to work in 60 secs flat to shift your emotions on a brighter note and make you feel different. Top it up with a cheery smile and you’ve just run into an amazing day!

What’s my favorite one!

A glint in the eye and a broad smile one that starts at the eyes and then fills the room. It’s contagious. It can change your world as it has mine!