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The Enthusiasm Smile Diet Quiz
adapted from
Living with Enthusiasm: How the 21-Day Smile Diet Can Change Your Life

Choose the answer that sounds most like you. Score yourself at the end of the quiz.  

DAY 1. How often do you find yourself smiling during the day? 

1. What’s to smile for? The world’s such a mess. Besides, I heard it takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. I hate exercise so the more muscles I can use without effort, the better.

2. Once. At exactly five o’clock p.m. every Monday through Friday and twice on the 2^nd and 4^th Fridays when I get my paycheck.

3. I’ve never thought about it. Maybe 10-20 times a day. But I hardly ever show my teeth because they’re not perfect and I can’t afford to get them fixed.

4. My life is a smile! I hunt for smiles. Everywhere I look there’s something to smile about no matter what’s going on in my life.

DAY 2. Do you wake up with a smile on your face?

1. No, but my dog does.

2. My face wakes up in park. I need all the help I can get.

3. Once in a while if I’ve had a good dream or I’m excited about something I’m doing that day.

4. Zippity do dah day! As soon as I’m aware I’m awake, I choose to smile as big as I can, take a deep breath, and say a prayer, “Thank you for another day.”

DAY 3. Would you like more energy to get more done?

1. Is this a rhetorical question?

2. Depends on how much exercise I have to do.

3. If it’s fun, count me in.

4. Always. I keep a running list of 50 energy-building tips that help me get things done faster and with more fun.

 
DAY 4. How easy is it for you to get other people to buy in to your ideas?  

1. Let’s just say that I graduated last in my class on purpose so that everyone else could get ahead.

2. Just call me Attila the Hun.

3. I'm a money magnet. If I’m excited about what I’m talking about, people throw money at me.

4. I finally figured out that my enthusiasm is in direct proportion to how excited I am about what I'm selling, and how much I'm helping someone who needs what I have to see the benefits of what I offer.

 
DAY 5. How would you rate your health over the last twelve months? 

1. Between my Prozac, Mylanta, and Advil, I’m doing great.

2. A few aches and pains, maybe one cold, and a few headaches depending on the moods of my boss, co-worker, or child.

3. Since I’ve had cancer, my whole definition of healthy has changed. How am I? Alive, smiling, and grateful – that’s healthy to me.

4. Since I started eating smaller portions with more green veggies, doing some kind of movement every day, and upping my fun factor, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been.
   

DAY 6. Do you have enough fun and joy in your life? 

1. Please, send in the clowns…

2. Can you help me put the fun back in dysfunctional?

3. I am the life of my party. And life is the party I make.

4. Now I do. I read this great book – Living with Enthusiasm: How the 21-Day Smile Diet Can Change Your Life – that showed me fun isn't a four-letter word and that when you combine fun with meaning and contribution, the result is joy.

DAY 7. How connected do you feel to the people in your life? 

1. Like totally! I love my cell phone.

2. Does the internet count?

3. My family drives me crazy but I wouldn’t trade them for a million dollars…at least this week. Just kidding. I love them to death and they’ll be the death of me. Did I just say that?

4. My mother taught me that if I make sure to smile and do something every day that would cause a family member, friend, coworker and someone in our community to say thank you, I’d never feel alone. She was right.

DAY 8. How would you describe your energy level?  

1. I wake up tired, go to bed tired. How do I get off the treadmill?

2. After two cups of espresso and a sweet roll, I’m good for about an hour and then I crash.

3. I make the energizer bunny look like a slug.

4. When I pace myself, eat healthy foods, and remember to take laugh breaks throughout the day, I can go all day.

DAY 9. How many questions did you ask yourself or others yesterday? 

1. What does this question have to do with enthusiasm?

2. One. In a restaurant. Where’s the bathroom?

3. At least 100 before lunch. The only dumb question is an unasked one.

4. I had a list of 20 for the doctor. I know from researching Alzheimer’s after my dad was diagnosed that learning helps keep your brain healthy so I try to learn something new every day.
    

DAY 10. How often do you point out to others what’s wrong with things, people, or situations compared to what is right? 

1. Pointing out what’s wrong and telling people how to fix it is my full-time job.

2. Does the word Pollyanna mean anything to you?

3. There's a gift in everything if I'm willing to look for it.

4. Life has its ups and downs. So do people. I focus on what I can do. If I run into a problem, I don’t dwell on it. I trust that, with everyone’s help, we can find a solution.

DAY 11. When was last time you had a really good belly laugh that brought tears to your eyes? 

1. This is a ridiculous question. What’s the point?

2. I can’t remember, maybe years.

3. Last month on Friends.

4. Just this morning! Good thing my legs were crossed. I didn't wet my pants this time. Life is so funny at times I can’t help but laugh out loud by myself.

DAY 12. Do you have a hobby or activity that you love to do and participate in daily? 

1. Too busy. I don’t have time for anything but work and carting the kids around town.

2. Does a new boyfriend count?

3. I finally got my horse after waiting 35 years! Even mucking his stall makes me smile.

4. I love, love, LOVE the work I do matching latch-key kids with temporary grandparents after school at my community Senior Center.

 
DAY 13. What drives your enthusiasm? 

1. My SUV! With three active kids, I couldn't live without it.

2. Party! I'll turn anything into an excuse to have a good time.

3. You mean, like, "Am I in the driver's seat of my life?"

4. The world needs all the good that we can do and I'll do what I can to offer hope and encouragement wherever I can.

DAY 14. How often do you hear yourself say, “Wow,” “That’s amazing,” or “Ohhh, that's so beautiful!? 

1. Not often enough.

2. Whenever I’m chasing tornadoes or passing a car accident. There but for the grace of God, go I.

3. Every time I look in the mirror.

4. Every day there are at least ten billion things – a sunrise, a child’s laugh, the bud of a rose, my cat’s purr…

DAY 15. God comes to you and says, "It's your lucky day. I need a vacation. I've chosen you to fill in for me today to run the world. You've got 30 seconds to decide what four things to bring with you. What will you bring? 

1. Can you reschedule your plans until next week? I’ve got a big charity event coming up this weekend and they can’t do it without me.

2. My family, my photo album, my cell phone, and a hot dish for God’s freezer so She doesn’t have to cook the night she gets back.

3. My cat, my jewelry, a bottle of wine, and chocolate truffles.

4. My enthusiasm, my love, my creativity and my health. If God needs a vacation, I’ll need the best of me.

 
DAY 16. Your manager has just notified you that your job is being phased out in 30 days and there’s no opportunity for a transfer. What do you tell yourself? 

1. I knew this would happen. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

2. If this company were run by anyone who knew what they were doing, this would have never happened. I’m calling my attorney.

3. Great! I need a vacation.

4. I wish this hadn’t happened, but I know there’s a gift in here somewhere. At least I have 30 days to prepare. I’ll update my resume this coming week and send it out to my email list next week.

DAY 17. Where is your favorite place in nature to rejuvenate yourself?

1. Does the electric Zen mini bubbling brook on my desk count?

2. My garden or walking along the river with my dog on Saturday mornings.

3. Watching the full moon rise from the cockpit of my sailboat.

4. An ocean boardwalk, park bike path, or wherever there’s fresh air and I can roll my wheelchair makes me a happy camper.

DAY 18. What dream or goal are you most excited about making happen this coming year? 

1. Why bother? Nothing ever turns out the way I wanted anyway.

2. I’ll have to let you know. I have to check with my husband first.

3. I need help. How do I choose the best one? There are so many good ones!

4. I have two. One just for me and one with my family. I’m taking an Italian cooking class at the local community college with two friends – we’re going to open a restaurant in three years. The other dream is organizing a family reunion for my family this summer.

DAY 19. How many people are you avoiding or not speaking to because of an unpleasant past experience with them? 

1. My lawyer said to plead the fifth.

2. My therapist says, “If you have to ask the answer is ‘yes.’”

3. None. I hate conflict and confrontation so I make sure I never get that close to anyone or I just roll with whatever comes up.

4. None. I can’t control the past but I can control my thinking. When I encounter uncomfortable situations, I either deal with them directly or address them within 24 hours and keep working on forgiving. It’s a daily process but the peace of mind is worth it.

DAY 20. How many friends do you have that you would feel comfortable calling at 3 a.m. in the morning if you needed emotional support? 

1. Does my psychiatrist count?

2. I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling friends at that hour of the night. I’d just suffer through it.

3. Is this similar to, “How many friends does it take to screw in a light bulb? Five, because if you burn out one, you still have four left.

4. I got smart. I’m in a women’s support group that gets together or talks on the phone for an hour once a week, so I’d say seven.

DAY 21. What do you say when someone compliments you?

1. Are you kidding?

2. Don’t thank me. Thank my team.

3. Thank you.

4. Thank you for noticing. Is there anything else?

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SCORING: After each day, list the letter that you chose for your response (a, b, c, d).

How to Understand Your Score

Perhaps you've noticed that with each question you answered, the "a" and "b" responses had a touch (or more) of cynicism, low self-worth, or low expectations for joy.

The "c" answers showed a healthier sense of humor, community, and effort to create more enthusiasm, but still didn't always fully embrace the unlimited abundance available to us all.

The "d" answers range from ideally balanced and joyful to off-the-chart (and for the cynics among us, unrealistically and annoyingly) enthusiastic.

It's a helpful idea to remember that you experience a range of moods throughout the day and that whatever surprises show up, you have the opportunity to choose your response.

I'm not suggesting denial in difficult situations, but I do know that once you've acknowledged the situation, the sooner you look for something to be enthusiastic about, the better you will feel and the more you'll be able to move into positive action.

Notice how many "a" and "b" answers you had and pay special attention to those days as you're reading Living with Enthusiasm. Be sure to do the action steps and answer the questions at the end of each of these particular days. You'll strengthen your smile muscles and increase your ability to splash in the stream of joy more often.

If you answered "c" and "d" to most questions, congratulations. You're living with enthusiasm and people look to you for inspiration. Read Living with Enthusiasm in the early morning or at the end of the day as a way to renew your spirit. Share extra copies with your admirers and mentees to help them stay encouraged.
 

How to Apply Your Answers to Your Life

Review all 21 questions one more time and notice which one question and set of answers sticks in your mind or touches your heart. Read that day's message in the book and spend the next 21 days focusing on that message as a gift to yourself. For example: You really got a charge or an ache from Day 7's question, "How connected do you feel to other people?" because you realized that you stay in touch most often by cell phone but don't spend more than 5 minutes in person with most people. You could decide to spend 60 quality minutes once a week with someone important to you, sharing 15 minute monologues about what's going on in your lives, doing the 30-second laugh, and sharing appreciations for each other. If you run out of things to say, take a walk or do some activity together that involves something other than watching TV or going to a movie or talking about other people besides yourselves -- give each other shoulder, hand, or foot massages, or dance or sing to your favorite music.
 

Consciously Smile at 3 New People a Day

Here's another example: Maybe you realized that you only smile at people who smile at you. Set yourself a goal to smile at 3 new people every day for the next three weeks. Write down their names at the end of the day in your journal and a few sentences about how they responded and how that made you feel. At the end of 21 days, I guarantee you that you'll feel more connected to people and that there will be at least a few miracles that will have taken place.

There's more! Get the latest research on smiling, laughter, and the healing power of enthusiasm, and receive 105 practical tips to create more enthusiasm and 105 empowering questions to enhance your self-discovery.

Living with Enthusiasm also makes a great gift, especially for someone going through a hard time.

Click here and we'll ship a signed copy of Living with Enthusiasm: How the 21-Day Smile Diet Can Change Your Life to you and a friend today.

Copyright 2003-2009 Mary Marcdante


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