Face the Facts

 Everyday Epiphany: Don’t underestimate the silliness factor.

It may have been a cooking quarrel or a direction dispute or a clean up after yourself spat that disrupted the peaceful coexistence Mike (my Significant Other) and I had established. Whatever the clash, I had been wrong. I overcooked the chicken instead of inserting the thermomotor as Mike suggested or turned left instead of right as Mike guided or accused him of not scrubbing the cast iron pan clean when I had been the one who last fried bacon. 

Facing the Music

When a dried chicken dinner and a Google map check and a lightbulb moment (I HAD left the congealed bacon grease in the skillet.) proved me wrong, Mike restrained from I-told-you-soing me. As a mature adult skilled at nurturing relationships and making peace, I employed the tactic I found foolproof in doing just that.

I stuck my tongue out at him. 

By pulling a silly face, I communicated that I had been wrong, he had been right, and restored balance to our universe. We both chuckled, threw out the chicken, and corrected our course. I eventually scrubbed the skillet clean and vowed not to quickly accuse.

After reading three bazillion Googled articles, I realized the serious value to silly faces.

Don’t Keep A Straight Face

The five second gesture deescalated what could have been a stressful situation. Sticking out my tongue communicated “I made a mistake, but we both know it’s not the end of the world.” 

Mike may have been thinking Why doesn’t she listen to me? She has a terrible sense of direction. She never listens to me. 

Making a silly face distracted him from negative thoughts, at least THOSE negative thoughts. Instead, he thought What a goofball. 

So, puff out those cheeks, cross those eyes, or pull the classic fish face to deflate a stressful event and sink those cortisol levels.

Wipe That Smile Onto Your Face

While waggled eyebrows or wiggled ears sidetracked negative thoughts from would-be disparagers, it also raised my mood. My brain released dopamine and endorphins (The “happy” neurochemicals that improved moods.) when I laughed and smiled. 

When I felt happy my brain reflected that in my facial expression and I smiled. It worked the other way around as well. Even if I’m traversing an endorphin and dopamine desert, a forced smile tricked my brain into thinking that I’m cheerful. Presto-chango my mood wasn’t in the crapper anymore. It’s known as “facial feedback hypothesis” and lent credence to the “fake it till you make it” life strategy.

So, I’ll crack a wide grin the next time I forget to use the thermometer and the chicken dries out.

Baby Face

I didn’t need to read the thirty bazillion Googled articles to know that kids and funny faces go together like endorphins and dopamine. (Okay, I DID need to read about those neurochemicals.) Scroll through any grandma’s photo feed library to uncover a treasure of exaggerated frowns, pulled out ears, and twisted tongues depending upon the grandkid’s specialty. It’s part of their developing humor.

To coax a smile from my six-month-old grandson, I blew raspberries that added an auditory to my funny faces. As I found out, this nonsense aided in developing crucial oral motor development, movement needed for speaking and eating. Babies imitating a waggling tongue helped with future speech and eating. 

And I just thought I was being silly.

Check out my book, OPERATION HOPPER.

You might want to read one of the three bazillion Googled articles I read about making funny faces.

https://www.dhgate.com/blog/the-science-behind-why-funny-faces-make-us-happy-c/