munication or say it with a humorous hat.
Life at home doesn’t have to be serious;
it’s far too important for that.
Tips for More Laughter in Life
Laughter is the human gift for 1. Practice laughing five minutes a day; fake it ‘til you make it.
coping and for survival; ringing,
2. Look for humor around you—on signs, in people’s behavior, on TV, in
pealing, roaring, bubbling laugh-
newspapers, things others say and the crazy things that happen to you.
ter. Chuckling. Giggling. Snick-
Keep a journal.
ering. Snorting. These are the
3. Share your embarrassing moments with others.
sounds of soul-saving laughter
4. Learn to play with things that are serious, like work, social issues and
that springs from our emotional
money. You might use word play, silly songs or develop a comical view
of the issue to help you cope.
core and helps us feel better, see
5. Laugh with others when they laugh.
things more clearly and creative-
6. Wear a smile; it puts you closer to laughing.
ly weigh and use our options.
7. Seek out entertainment that makes you laugh.
Laughter helps us roll with the
8. Amuse yourself with your own sense of humor.
punches that inevitably come 9. Buy and listen daily to a tape of laughter, a laugh box or a laughing toy.
our way. We unleash the power 10. Play around with games and mindless toys that make you laugh.
of laughter every time we laugh.
11. Wear hats that make you laugh.
12. Cultivate your innate playfulness.
13. Be creative with fun.
We can slip laughter into the work-
14. Do at least one silly, nonconforming thing each day.
place with a few lighthearted windup
15. Give yourself permission to laugh at anything you need to.
toys. Play with frustrations by writing
16. Make sure you have fun.
them on shoe soles and walking on them.
Wear a temporary tattoo that expresses
our mood for the day. No one need see it.
Source: Enda Junkins
Find ways to celebrate stress; we might as
well enjoy it. We can practice laughing,
so that we can laugh when we need it
most.
Mother Nature laughs. She created
people playful and funny. She also cre-
Laughter in the Workplace
ated laughter. Why, in pursuit of serious
things, have we short-circuited both
1. Look for the funny things that always exist, like typos, the funny actions
our play and our laughter? In our frenzy
of coworkers and your own funny behavior.
to succeed and to have it all, we have
2. Give projects comical names, like Quasimodo or Thumper.
shortened everything. We have fast food,
3. Keep mindless toys on your desk and take short breaks to play with them.
fast banking, fast fun, fast shopping, even
4. Wear a creative hat to express or change your attitude.
fast sex. Today, life is a longer process on
5. Use cartoons to help with communication.
a shorter schedule, and for that, we need
6. Play with the idea of stress and learn to celebrate it.
lots of laughter.
7. Laugh with coworkers for a few minutes for no real reason at all.
Our natural laughter is neither fast-
8. Under your clothes, wear a T-shirt with a saying that lightens you up.
paced nor high-tech. It’s not expensive
9. Find playful ways to ease conflict with coworkers. For example: Employ
and it can’t be bought. Others can’t do
toys that diffuse conflict; develop lightly humorous things to think or say;
it for us. All of us can do it ourselves,
or use comical visualizations that help you keep perspective.
however, because we’re born with it, and
10. Exaggerate and play with the issues that annoy you most.
it’s our right to reap all its benefits. On
11. Incorporate elements of a game into your work. For example: Give your-
the off chance that we occasionally find
self a prize for completing a project; divide the project into a football
ourselves headed off to “smell the roses”
field and see each stage of completion as a first down; give yourself a
from a drive-in window, at least we can
cheer; or develop a ritualized, playful way of turning on your computer.
laugh at our own folly.
12. Laugh for five minutes on the way to work.
13. Wear lighthearted, temporary tattoos that serve as handy reminders.
14. Wear a fun tie, scarf or other piece of clothing that makes you feel good
Enda Junkins, known as “The Laughing
and playful. If it is a serious day or a big meeting and outer attire must
Psychotherapist,” is a Licensed Clinical So-
match accordingly, wear fun underwear.
cial Worker and a Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapist. For information on her
Source: Enda Junkins
keynote talks, seminars and workshops,
visit LaughterTherapy.com.
naturnatural aal awakenings enings F februaryebruary 2 2010 49
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