You have a great assignment today. Your job is to laugh. That’s right, laugh. No excuses. It doesn’t matter if you just got fired, your dog died, and your wife kicked you out of the house. Find a reason to laugh. It will heal you.
It’s not that easy to just spontaneously break into laughter, so what can you do to get the ball rolling? Here are a few suggestions:
Rent a funny movie.
Call an old friend and talk about the stupid things you did when you were kids.
Spend about an hour with someone under the age of five.
Go to a comedy show.
Get underwear with smiley faces on it, and wear it to an important meeting. Your colleagues won’t know what you’re hiding.
Practice a random act of kindness on your grumpy neighbor.
Whatever you do, don’t take yourself seriously, and let that laughter bubble up and start to heal you from the inside out.
DAY
79
“A good laugh is sunshine in a house.”
— William Makepeace Thackeray
Mary sat at the reception encased in a wall of grief. She buried her husband that morning, her best friend for over fifty years. She wasn’t sure if she could ever be happy again. The bitter cold outside mimicked the brittle, icy hardness she felt in her heart. She had the uneasy feeling that at any moment she might shatter into a million pieces on the floor, and there would be nothing left of her. But that didn’t happen. She held her cup of tea stoically on her lap and halfheartedly listened to the continuous stream of condolences that floated past her.
One of Mary’s grandchildren was summoned to play a tune on the violin to cheer Grandma up. Mary grimaced as the six-year-old tucked her little violin under her chin and started to play one of three tunes in her repertoire. Unfortunately, the child had no idea that there were words to the song she played. It was an old traditional tune, and the culminating line was, “The old gray goose is dead.”
Mourners started to shift in an uncomfortable silence at the end of the performance, and then suddenly Mary started to giggle. Her giggles soon erupted into a huge belly laugh, and her granddaughter joined in, not really knowing why. Soon, the entire room was rolling with laughter. It was as if a burst of sunshine filled the room, and the healing began.
Your assignment today is to never underestimate the power of a good laugh. Take every opportunity to laugh today and every day. This is far too important a journey to be taken seriously.
DAY
80
“Never laugh at live dragons.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien
All right, so there’s a time to laugh and a time to run! But seriously, all of this information the last few days about laughter and happiness may be a little nauseating if your life is in crisis. You can’t slap on a happy face and pretend everything is okay if it’s not. The laughter therapy suggested two days ago in no way promotes insincerity or pretends certain realities in your life do not exist. Your laughter must be genuine. It has to burst forward from the depths of your soul. Sometimes real life prevents that from happening.
That is when you need to look at what is blocking you from happiness. What stops your laughter? Seek out those live dragons and face them. Are you grieving over the loss of a loved one? Are you in fear of financial ruin? Do you face the demons of addiction every day and lose?
Face your dragons and fight them head on. If you want to bring laughter back into your life, you need to clear out the scary stuff to make room for the sunlight. Give names to the dragons you face. Write them down in your journal today. Be honest and jot down specifically what blocks you from happiness. Then pick at least one of your dragons and devise a plan to battle it and win.
Live dragons aren’t funny at all, but dead ones are hilarious, because they can’t hurt you. Pick your battles today, and defeat the dragons that block your happiness. Be brave, and your reward will be a soul that is overflowing with joy.
DAY
81
“Let every man shovel out his own snow and the whole city will be passable.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone just did what they were supposed to do? The world would be a much better place. But who is in charge of the plan? Do you want to be? That might be your problem. There are nearly seven billion people in the world, and every single one of us has a different agenda.
Now, here’s a news flash. You are not in charge. You don’t get to control whether or not your neighbor shovels his own snow, so stop wasting your time worrying about it. You are powerless over the actions of others. If you want to be successful, concentrate on your own actions. What can you do to make this world a better place? How can you contribute?
It is so easy to get stuck complaining about the actions of a boss, a spouse, a friend, a relative, or a co-worker and blame them for sabotaging your road to success.
“If she would have just done her job, I wouldn’t be in this mess!”
Does that line sound familiar? Has it come out of your mouth recently?
If you want to lower your stress level and move forward in life, you must stop worrying about the actions of others. Take personal responsibility and take action. What can you do to create change? What actions can you take to reach success?
Your assignment today is to leave other people alone. You cannot control them, and they probably don’t care about your opinion. Concentrate on what you can do to change your life, and focus on how you can be helpful to others rather than how you can boss them around.
DAY
82
“As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.”
— English Saying
Jimmy was not happy with his situation. He was deep in debt, and he resented the daily calls he received from creditors. He never picked up the phone, because he was afraid of who might be hounding him for a payment. On top of that, he hated his job. It didn’t allow him to make enough money to pay all his bills. His response was to put forth a halfhearted effort and call in sick often. Jimmy was under so much stress, he had no idea how to change his life. Success didn’t even cross his mind. He was worried about survival.
How did Jimmy end up in this situation? Was it just bad luck? The truth is, Jimmy overspent, and then he hid from his responsibilities rather than facing them. If he wants to change, he has to take personal responsibility for his situation. He has to admit fault and make a change. Jimmy made his bed, and he is going to have to lie on it. His situation is the direct result of his own actions.
This is not a tragic story. Jimmy has the power to change. He can face his creditors and work out a payment solution. He can show up at work and put in an honest effort that might lead to a promotion, or he can apply for a better job with a higher salary. But if Jimmy chooses to hide and not take responsibility, his crummy situation will just get worse.