Yesterday I was walking out of a store, and as I was walking out a lady was walking in. I did my usual instinctual smile that you do as you pass by another person in and out of a door.

It was only a millisecond later that I registered she was wearing a mask, (we are in Sydney where it’s not mandatory and not quite yet a big thing), and I realised I couldn’t tell if she smiled back. I made a decision in that moment to keep doing what I usually do re smiling at people, looking them in the eye as I pass by or when we walk around each other, even if they are wearing a mask and I can’t tell if they’re smiling back.

Social distancing and mask wearing doesn’t mean cutting ourselves off from all normal human interaction. If you usually smile at people as an instinctual habit, keep smiling at them, say good morning or hello as you pass by on your daily walk.

If you do wear a mask, are you finding your smiling habits have changed? Do you still instinctively smile at people, or do you feel a bit anonymous/hidden under there so don’t smile?

Research has shown that smiling immediately lifts and elevates our mood so this is something simple we can all do to help ourselves and others.