Dooley Noted: 1/9/2014
One of my thesis advisors had the exact opposite personality as I. He was tough without tenderness, and he rarely smiled.
Since I’m a bouncy, bubbly, energetic type in the lab, he pulled me to the side one day to offer his advice.
Advisor: “Dooley, stop smiling so much.”
Dooley: “Why, sir?”
Advisor: “It shows weakness. You can’t show them weakness.”
He was a phenomenal anatomist. So, I tried to teach his way for one lab. I found the smiling embargo to be nearly impossible, since it’s unnatural for me to avoid being upbeat.
I heard this same concept repeated to me at a low back pain seminar by Dr. Stu McGill. In regards to strength and power output, I was reprimanded for smiling and encouraging a colleague.
McGill made notes like, “Don’t cheer him on,” and, “Smiling is weakness.”
That throw-back to my thesis advisor got me thinking:
Am I lacking strength because I smile?
I started doing some digging into the annals of strength research. I couldn’t find a single solid research article that indicated smiling causes weakness in force output.
I understand the hypothesis: look tough, be tough.
But if my mind is strong and confident, I am prone to smile.
The facial tension exhibited by frowning is nearly equivocal to smiling. Thus, frowning doesn’t supersede smiling as a strength inducer.
On the flip side, a student said this to me a few months ago:
“Dr. Dooley, it’s such a relief to see you. You’re the only teacher that is ever warm. You’re the only one that smiles at us instead of yelling at us.”
I’m not convinced that smiling leaks the strength out of me. If anything, it has helped me exhibit the confidence I need to pursue strength. I’m not going to “get mad at the bell” to lift it above my head.
That might work for someone else. Personally, that notion just makes me laugh. I process my anger. I don’t save it for later.
The jury is still out on the research to back up facial expression with strength.
Until then, and as always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley