Can you predict a person’s future based on their smile? In a
2011 TED Talk, Ron Gutman summarized the results of some smile research. For
example, one study looked at pre-1950 baseball cards, and measured a player’s
smile. The average lifespan of a player with no smile turned out to be 72.2
years, but if a player was beaming, he had lived to a ripe ol’ 79.9 years. The
bigger the smile, the longer the player had lived.
In another study cited by Gutman, smiles in yearbook
pictures were compared to the success and well-being of those students
throughout their lives. The researchers were able to predict how fulfilling and
long-lasting their marriages were, how well a student performed on tests of
well-being, and how inspiring a student was to others. The bigger the smile,
the higher the student’s level of success had turned out to be.
Looking back at my high school yearbook picture above, I
think Mr. Gutman would say I am doomed. And you would probably agree, if this
was the only picture of me you ever saw. However, it is only one snapshot of one
second during what had to be one very bad day for me. After all, I was forced
to wear (gasp!) a tie.
Since the picture is of me, I know more about the subject
than anyone else, and can definitely say the picture is not indicative of the
rest of my story. The truth is, I actually enjoyed high school, and nearly
every other picture in the yearbook with me in it demonstrates that somehow.
Horsing around with teammates, goofing around with friends, and yes, even cracking
the occasional smile. Yet, if that picture was the only thing you knew about
me, you’d probably say I was destined to be the grumpy, miserable failure I
appeared to be at that moment.
The good news is God already knows the rest of my story, and
the rest of your story, too. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares
the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and
a future.’“ (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).
The future looks good, regardless of whether
you’re smiling at any given instant or not.
