Also take note that children tend to assume the habitual facial expressions of their parents and as your facial expressions can be a powerful influence on your moods, it is important that you develop a habit of facial expressions that express confidence and cheerfulness as opposed to sadness, worry, or anger.
For many years as a kid growing up, I was intimidated by my father. It wasn’t what he said or did, but it was rather how he looked that had a big impact. He would always have this very stern expression, this incredibly serious look on his face. For years I thought that he was angry, specifically, I thought he was angry with me, or that it was something I had done, or didn’t do, that would cause him to look that way. And although, there were more than a few times when I was the major source of frustration for him as a parent, it wasn’t until much later in life, that I realized that was just the way he looked, it was his default facial expression. It was what was there when the mask that he wore to the office came off.
Develop a habit of smiling, smile at others at work and at home. Developing a habit of smiling is important especially for those who are in management positions, parents, teachers, coaches, customer service representatives, salespeople, clergy, and anyone else who is in contact with the general public. Smiles are contagious, the more you smile the more others around you will smile. When you smile you feel good and those around you feel good. As a manager I found that whenever I spoke with my staff weather if it was at a meeting, or discussing some challenge or problem, if I smiled everything went better. The employees would smile, and they would feel better and as long as they were happy and feeling good, things generally went well.