I've heard this time and time again, and truth be told I don't agree with it one bit. In fact, I'd say that you have two choices in this world; Laugh or Cry. I find that when I smile at someone their reaction varies. They either smile back or wonder what crazy scheme I have up my sleeve.
This, I use to my advantage. Any time I walk into a meeting (client, internal, personal, any meeting) I try and remember to smile. If I don't get a pleasant response I walk back out of the room and try it again. Usually after the third try people are smiling back at me or laughing because they can't figure out the joke.
If their is a party in the room that still doesn't get it, I hit them with a comment such as "Did I kill your dog in a previous life or something?" After a very bad experience I stay completely away from statements like "Who died?" You can fill in the blanks on that one.
By this point they have figured out that I'm going to be happy even if they are not. This has worked to my advantage on many occasions and only once has it got me into "Sensitivity Training" (apparently one member of the room though I was "too flirty", my though is screw them).
Many clients and people that I've heard referred to as close minded or strong willed suddenly become open to suggestions and interested in what you have to say. Obviously if your so happy all of the time you must be doing something right.
This isn't to say that I'm always happy, quite to the contrary I find myself aggravated or disappointed especially when I fail to make a connection with a person. Many times when I feel the worse is when I put this practice to work the most. Getting the people around you to enjoy their day will most times improve your own view of how your day is going.
After all, if you can't laugh about something then you simply have no choice but to cry about it and no one likes a cry baby :).
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