Laughter is the best medicine

Today, I gave a workshop to about 75 teachers and support-staff on ‘Managing Stress with Humour at the Workplace’. We had a whale of a good time, with an abundance of shared laughter. I love to laugh, and I will inject a healthy dose of it into my classes because my students appreciate it. When they laugh, they open up and are receptive to new ideas and perspectives.

A sense of humour is necessary when things don’t normally go the way we expect. Sometimes, just laughing about it may help. It changes our physiology and makes us more alert. Laughter lightens the tension of the moment, and may be useful in dissipating some stress. Being overly disappointed and depressed may not be useful if all we do is mope and dwell on a past that won’t change. Instead,

1. Look at the bright side of things.

2. Consider that it could have been worst.

3. Laugh at the absurdity of the matter.

4. Ask: What can I learn from this?

5. Ask: What will I do differently the next time?

Share a joke with a colleague; be sensitive and keep it respectful. Relate an amusing story. We can laugh about similar experiences. We can play with language to elicit a laugh. It is okay to be, occasionally, silly.

Take a moment. Catch your breath. Have a laugh. It may just be what the doctor ordered to cure your blues.

My friend, entrepreneur-triathlete-financier-philanthropist, Mitch Thrower reaffirms this with The Billion-Dollar Secret is Humour.