Life is wonderful and funny and crazy . . . and a little absurd. Enjoy it. Laugh at it. When you stop thinking of the world as a place that’s doomed and start thinking about it as a beautiful, unique, and very funny mix of opportunities, then the door is open for change.
DAY
163
“Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.”
— Bob Newhart
Laughter provides a great buffer. If you completely mess something up, but you are able to stop and laugh at yourself, then you are in great shape. Have you ever tried it as a response to failure? It works beautifully. Laugh first, and then think about what to do to make it right.
Laughter gives you distance. It takes away the personal sting of falling short. Everyone screws up sometime, and it doesn’t feel very good when it happens. For some reason when we fail we think that no one else in the entire world has ever done so. That’s simply not true. If you want to prove your success, then don’t bother trying to be perfect. A sign of a successful person is how he or she deals with the aftermath of a mistake. Try laughter this week as a first step in dealing with failure. You will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you are able to recover from disappointment.
Laughter puts that cushion between you and the event. It lets you drop your ego and pick up the pieces and move on. When you put a little distance between yourself and your failure, you can see more clearly what needs to be done to make things right. On the other hand, if you are not able to laugh at yourself and you take failure very personally, you will dig a pretty deep hole of disappointment, and change won’t happen anytime soon.
Laughter is a wonderful—and efficient—coping mechanism. Practice using it whenever you face a disappointing outcome.
DAY
164
“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.”
— Lord Byron
Never pass up a chance for a good laugh. The healing effects of laughter are no joke. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, and those are your body’s own natural painkillers. Recent studies have found that laughter can actually help prevent heart disease. It can also relieve stress, restore hope, and enhance your immune system. It keeps the cognitive function of elderly individuals in shape and lowers blood pressure. It’s even a good exercise for deep breathing techniques.
So why not laugh whenever you get a chance?
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m just not that funny.”
You don’t have to be. There are loads of comedians out there. They need an audience. You can add humor to your life just by reacting to funny people or situations— or laughing at yourself in funny situations. Don’t worry; you don’t have to come up with your own material. Day-to-day circumstances will provide more than enough opportunities to laugh.
Maybe you’re afraid that you don’t really see the humorous side of things. Do you take life more seriously than everyone else most of the time? That’s okay. You can practice humor. Watch what other people find funny and observe their joy. Soon you may be able to identify with their humor and let go of your serious side a little. It’s not healthy to be serious all the time. It’s not going to make you successful faster. Learn to laugh, and then take advantage of this free medicine whenever you get the opportunity.
DAY
165
“Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.”
— W.H. Auden
For the last several days, you’ve learned about a number of positive reasons to have laughter in your life. One of the biggest advantages of laughter is its ability to draw people together. Laughter is a way to relate to each other that is purely positive. It is a shared experience in the present, and there is nothing serious or judgmental or sad or depressing about it.
Think about the five people that you enjoy spending time with the most. They may each have very different personalities and interests, and you’ve probably shared a number of positive and negative events with them. Is it safe to bet that most or all of them share one trait—the ability to make you laugh?
Laughter is a terrific tool for friendship. If you want to be a good friend to others, laugh with them. You know that you are not an island. You need other people in your life to share your joys and your sorrows. Humor is a way for you to be a really good and healthy and healing friend.
Your assignment today is to journal about what kind of friend you are. What characteristics do you have that make you a good friend? Then write about what characteristics your friends have that you really love. Can you learn anything from your best friends? How can you be a better friend? Spend some time with your friends over the next few days and watch how laughter draws you together.
DAY
166
“Almost anything is easier to get into than to get out of.”
— Agnes Allen
“What have I done?” Eli muttered to himself as he stared at the pile of bills on his desk.
Six months ago Eli launched a new business, and now he had nothing but debt to show for it. He had been so sure that he had the right stuff to pull it off. He had a great idea, and he took action. Soon he was buying office furniture, ordering materials, and building his website. It was so easy to get started. But then nothing happened.
Eli didn’t get clients as quickly as he had hoped. He sat in his office staring at his brand-new furnishings and high-tech website, but there was nothing much to do without customers. It had been so easy to launch this endeavor, but in six short months he had managed to fail. How was he going to get out of this mess?
Have you been in a similar situation? Have you felt like quitting when you were barely out of the starting gate? It’s easy to get excited and then end up in so deep that you have no idea how to get out. Eli found himself in that spot, but he did climb out of the hole. He took it one step at a time. First, he got a part-time job to help pay down his current debt. Then, he researched strategies to build his audience. He knew he had a great idea, but he hadn’t yet reached his audience. He became a master of network marketing, and six months later his business started to see a trickle of customers. One year later, he was making some real money. You can find your way out of any mess one step at a time, just like you found your way in. It might take longer, but be patient and keep moving forward.
DAY
167
“All things are difficult before they are easy.”
— Thomas Fuller
Another excuse we have for giving up before we find success is to say that the job is too difficult.