So, I'm at work the other day and my supervisor keeps coming by asking me how I'm doing. "I'm fine," I reply. I keep working. She's got this look on her face which tells me that she wasn't satisfied with my answer. "Sigh, guess I have to be a therapist for a bit," I think to myself. So, I turn it around and ask her if everything is okay. She tells me that I just look mad. I tell her that I'm not mad, I'm just serious about my work. But, then I ask if she thinks I am mad all the time and she tells me, yes. I realize that might be a problem.
She walks away after I assure her with a smile that I really am cool, I'm not mad about anything, which is true, I'm not. Now I'm thinking, "is this a problem? I don't really smile that much, I must admit. Maybe I need to start smiling a bit so people aren't put off. After all, why not smile if I'm not upset? It would probably help make things go smoothly around all the feelers I work with."
But, then the voice of reason switches gears on me like, "well, wait a second here. I know my store boss is an intellectual, and he doesn't give a shit. He seems to really like me. After all, we see eye-to-eye on just about everything, and he pretty much lets me run things my own way without any supervision. Maybe it doesn't matter if I smile."
Another switch, "but, on the other hand, if it helps everything to run smoothly and I really don't care either way, I guess there's no point in looking like I have a bad attitude. Everything I've read about body language and psychology does say that people in general react better to a smile than a frown. Fuck, I'm not trying to look anti-social."
I decide to work on this and start to think about how awesome I am, all the things that I've accomplished and experienced, how attractive I think that makes me, and how silly anyone would be to reject me as a potential ally, considering all my advantages and strengths. This makes me feel like a badass, and soon enough I'm smiling. The rest of the day goes by more efficiently than any day in a long while. More of my coworkers start talking to me who never approached me before. Seriously, it's almost amazing how persuasive a smile can be. I mean, holy shit. Really? That's all it took?
I think I'm on the right track about this issue, I'm just looking for some peer review. I mainly post this in case others have been in this same situation and needed assurance that they're not alone.