Take a Humor Break (or 3)
As I prepare for my TEDx talk, I have to remind myself to do the things I’ve recommended to people for year, take humor breaks. With all of the calendars, To-do-lists, journals, reminders, and we can’t forget the biblical level deluge of texts and emails, it can often feel like we’re never going to get ahead. In truth, the list will never be done. I say, so much the worst for the list. I don’t think that whatever afterlife there may be has someone guarding the gates making sure that your lists were mostly done, and that you’d made sure all those deliverables got delivered. Socrates’ reminder to “beware of the bareness of a busy life” seems fitting here
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One of the reasons that humor and laughter are so helpful in getting us through the day is that they interrupt the flow and build up of negative feelings and thoughts. Anxiety, worry, panic, these emotions and mood states often overwhelm us, but they can do it in different ways. Panic is a flash flood that can overwhelm us, overcome us, and leave us unable to move. Worry and anxiety work differently. They can certainly overwhelm us, but they do so much more slowly, insistently. Instead of a raging floodwater, these seem to be more like an ever rising river level that comes slowly, but seems equally inescapable. All can shut us down. But there are ways to limit the effects.
Sir Edmund Hillary who, along with Tenzig Torgay, were two of the first people to summit Mt. Everest, knew of the value of humor and laughter. Sir Edmund told us that when we face any challenge, or difficulty, or danger, we will be able to more readily face those dangers and overcome our obstacles when humor and laughter are present. One of the reasons for this, is that the presence of humor and laughter interrupts the flow of those negative feelings.
There are numerous stories where panicked soldiers used humor to break them loose of the grip of panic. The laughter or humor at once distracts, interrupts, and soothes us. If I could bottle such an elixir, I would surely be a billionaire in short order. But why settle for billions <insert Dr. Evil voicing> when I could have millions?! But the best thing is, there’s no need to bottle it. It's out there already in the form of a well-placed laugh or smile.
All we need to do is take a moment here and there to find the humor, interrupt whatever negative cycle we’re confronted with, and our lives will improve. I encourage you to consistently find more humor in your lives. I’m off to do that right now.