PLASP started off the new school year with a smile by welcoming Smile Epidemic founder Jim Moss at its Staff Recognition and Reorganization Day at the Mississauga Convention Centre on Monday, August 26^th, 2013. Sharing his story of overcoming an illness that left him unable to walk and his rehabilitation through the process of gratitude journaling, Jim inspired over 900 staff to take inventory of their lives and think about what makes each of us smile on a daily basis.

Focusing his presentation around the work that PLASP staff do with children, Jim told the staff that children smile approximately 200 times daily, whereas adults only average 25-30 smiles a day.

For PLASP staff, who get to witness the smiles of children on a daily basis, smiling comes naturally to so many of us. Jim reinforced the idea behind this, telling staff that studies have shown that employees who participate in programs that are focused in positive psychology experience the following benefits:

• Reduction in depression and anxiety.
• Feel more in control of their workload.
• Reduction in conduct problems.
• Works well for employees from diverse backgrounds.
• Improvement in health-related behaviors and show fewer symptoms of physical illness, fewer illness doctor visits, better diet and more exercise.

Jim encouraged staff to take a 30-Day Happiness Challenge that he’s been promoting at other work places, using either www.smileepidemic.com or an app that his company has developed for mobile devices – or any other approach that they could come up with - to make it that much easier to embrace the moments in our lives that make us smile. “The more we share what makes us grateful, the more we scan our environment for the positive rather than the negative in our lives,” says Jim.

Following his presentation, PLASP staff were invited to work in groups and write on cards what makes them smile. Staff were eager to participate and by the end of the workshop, the convention centre was filled with the smiles from our staff – on paper and on their faces.

What are some of the things that make you smile as a parent? What is something that a PLASP staff has done recently that made you or your child smile? We’d love to know!

We’ll be sharing some of what our staff are doing to share their gratitude through their own 30-Day Happiness Challenges. Want to learn more about sharing gratitude or the Smile Epidemic? Visit Jim’s website to learn more or download their mobile app and start smiling today.