Laughter Lifts

Laughter Lifts
by Carrie Roberts,
M.Ed.,LPC,CEAP,SAP,
EAP Consultant/Coach

Ah…Spring is right around the corner. On the heels of this long winter, though, a good dose of humor may be appreciated right about now. I thought I’d share some tips from a great and funny book by Joel Goodman, PhD, called Laffirmations: 1,001 Ways to Add Humor to Your Life and Work.

• Start a humorous tee shirt collection and exchange fun tee shirts with others. You can wear them to “exercise” your sense of humor when you are exercising. (This idea came from a practice evidently done during international soccer matches among the athletes.)
• During dinner parties that include primarily adults, use birthday toys that you would ordinarily have at kids’ birthday parties. This would bring out the playful child in everyone!
• The next time you go on a business trip (or any trip) alone, leave a joke or a cartoon on your spouse’s pillow.
• This one is designed to help the entire family start the day in a light-hearted way and wake up on the “light” side of the bed. Play a funny or chirpy CD to wake them up. Music tends to amuse and is a fun wake-up call. (I can imagine this might not go over too well with teens…but, you never know.)
• Keep joke and cartoon books in your office for others to look at, or borrow. It’s a fun safety valve, and it also can help to reduce isolation.
• When you are in the middle of an anxiety-producing moment, stop, take a step back and say, “This could be amusing.” (Crazy as it sounds, I tried it and noticed that by doing this I was reminded to see the humor in the situation…as well as not to take myself so seriously.)
• Every night, write a diary of funny things your kids do or say. Someday, you can give these diaries to your kids as gifts.
• Place a jar of different-colored jellybeans on your desk along with a list of which color to take for each kind of stress. (I love this one…what a way to detach from the stressors in our lives!)
• Have a “backwards” dinner with your family or friends. One of you plans the menu and serves dinner starting with dessert. It can become a silly family ritual that brings lots of joy and laughter.

These are just a few strategies that might lift you if you find yourself feeling a touch of the “winter doldrums”. Have a laugh on me!