The Power of Joy: How Positive Thinking and a Simple Smile Can Transform Your Life

A certain Hasid once came to his Rebbe, complaining and sighing over his financial struggles.

“There’s a solution!” the Rebbe told him. “Be joyful, and I promise you that through joy, your livelihood problems will be resolved.”

“But Rebbe,” the Hasid cried out, “how can I be happy when I’m hungry for bread?”

“Well,” the Rebbe replied, “what won’t people do for a livelihood?”

This short anecdote highlights two different views on what happiness really is. One perspective claims: If you have everything you need, you’ll be happy. The other says: If you are happy, then you already have everything you need.

The first mindset makes it almost impossible to ever truly be happy. No life is perfect, and there’s always something missing- whether material or spiritual.

The second view, however, makes happiness always accessible. Even if your situation isn’t ideal, you can still feel good. Once you feel good, your spiritual, and maybe even your financial situation will start to improve. This makes life better overall.

How exactly does joy lead to a better life? How does it help someone improve their situation?

Being Happy with What You Have

Joy is closely connected to optimism and positive thinking, and those naturally shape how we perceive reality.

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot says, “Who is rich? One who is happy with what he has.” When you feel content, you experience life as abundant- even if nothing materially changes. Seeing life positively allows us to experience it more positively. Things that used to upset or irritate us can start to seem less significant.

In one study, researchers read participants a story about a happy person and a sad person. Half the participants were in a good mood, and half were in a bad mood. The results? Those in a sad mood remembered more about the sad character, while those in a happy mood focused more on the happy one. Our emotional state colors how we perceive everything. When we’re down, we see what’s wrong, whereas when we’re joyful, we see what’s good, which makes us even happier.

Positive Thinking Leads to Positive Action

When we view life and other people positively, we behave better, which helps things run more smoothly. For example, if a student assumes their teacher is “out to get them,” they’ll act cold or defensive. The teacher may then respond harshly, confirming the student’s negative assumption. A breakdown in communication follows.

If however the student believes that the teacher is well-intentioned and made a mistake, they’ll likely speak openly and try to resolve the issue. The result is stronger communication and a better relationship.

Positive Thoughts Create Positive Emotions

We mistakenly think that emotions are outside our control. However, the Torah even commands us to love one another. If we’re expected to feel something, it must be within our power, at least partially.

A well-known psychologist, Dr. Schachter, proposed that emotions are made up of two components:

1. Physical arousal (like a racing heart or changes in skin temperature)

2. Mental interpretation of what we’re experiencing

If your body feels that arousal during something positive, like a wedding, you interpret it as joy. But if it happens during something somber, like a funeral, you’ll experience sadness. This indicates that our interpretation of events plays a significant role in the way we feel.

How Do We Break Out of Sadness?

Let’s return to the joke. The Rebbe tells his struggling Hasid to be joyful. It sounds simplistic, but it’s based on a deep truth that when you’re feeling stuck, do anything that helps you lift your mood, even a little.

Try a Smile- It’s Worth It

One powerful, time-tested trick for breaking out of sadness is incredibly simple: Smile. It may feel unnatural, after all, we usually smile because we’re happy, and frown because we’re sad. But if you can break that pattern and smile even when you’re not in the mood, you’ll be amazed by the results.

The same way happiness causes smiles, smiling actually causes happiness. A smile doesn’t only reflect joy, it creates it. If you’re feeling down and manage to smile- even if it feels forced at first- you may be surprised by how much better you begin to feel.

The Science Behind the Smile

Smiling contracts facial muscles, which affects blood flow and even temperature in the brain. This triggers the release of neurotransmitters linked to positive emotions. Studies have shown that people asked to make happy faces report feeling better than those asked to make angry ones- even if they were just “acting.”

Smile. Look around and notice what’s good. Focus on what is working. Slowly, everything begins to look a little brighter, which results in more reasons to smile.