Title.
So I have this issue where people tell me I “look serious” and “stop being so serious”, but honestly I think it’s just a passive/automatic habit I’ve learned over the years. It happens without me even realizing or being conscious to it.
I’m also an introvert and spend a lot of time “in my own head”/thinking rather than paying attention to superficial stuff like my facial expressions – so I’m not sure how to break this habit since it’s so ingrained/automatic at this point.
No doubt it has also cost me opportunities with girls here and there, hindsight is 20/20… 🤦♂️ From what I remember how encounters usually went was like this: girl initiates or approaches me with a smile, conversation is kinda awkward since my “serious” vibe, girl seems to lose interest as the conversation is flat, the encounter sort of fizzles out from there.
To be fair though, I had a pretty crappy childhood with all the poverty, loneliness, and growing up under a violent/alcoholic dad with a toxic “you can cut the tension with a knife” atmosphere at home and domestic violence galore… so ***historically*** I didn’t really have much to smile about all things considered, so I can see how the frowny facial muscles mostly got overdeveloped/overworked versus the smiley facial muscles. I didn’t smile much growing up for said reasons so my muscle-memory seems to be set to the frowny/serious expressions “by default” (if that makes sense).
Also I deal with all the various aches and pains that come with being a tall guy, which doesn’t help matters. For me the knees and my neck (…seems to get STONE-HARD after staring at screens all day) are main troublespots as far as mild discomfort/pain go, which sours my mood somewhat depending on how sore I feel. It’s like, it’s hard to smile when you’re feeling sore just beneath the surface 🤣
Anyways, any thoughts or advice?