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“Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing yourself when things are bad. That and whisky.”
- Mark Twain
1.) DON'T TAKE LIFE SO SERIOUSLY -
"They also serve who only stand and wait. But the pay is shit."
- George Carlin
We all have obstacles in life and we all make mistakes.
There is no reason to beat yourself up over it.
In fact, if you can laugh light-heartedly at your own foibles, you'll find that you give yourself that extra happiness and confidence boost that can get you over any hurdle.
This also extends to other people. Try not to be too hard on others -- a smile and a chuckle teaches more than criticism.
2.) FIND THE HUMOR IN A BAD SITUATION -
“Laughter is like a hurricane: once it reaches a certain point, it becomes self-feeding, self-supporting.
You laugh not because the jokes are funny but because your own condition is funny.”
― Stephen King, The Dark Tower
Bruce Willis saved my sanity.
If you've watched the first DIE HARD, Bruce exhibits a pattern:
Things go terribly wrong, rubble falls on him, and he crawls out laughing:
"Come to L.A. We'll have some laughs, see the sights!"
I adopted the habit: if I dropped something or banged my shin or made a mistake, I would laugh at the absurdity of the human condition.
Guess what: I most always end up laughing for real instead of swearing, raising my blood pressure.
Sure, there are some situations that are genuinely sad and certainly not laughing matters.
However, most situations in life have an ironic or ludicrous side to them.
The next time you feel the stress levels rising,
take a minute to think about the irony of the situation and allow yourself to laugh over the things you cannot control.
This will decrease the amount of cortisol that your body produces due to stress, lowering your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and heart rate.
3.) SURROUND YOUR SELF WITH FUN PEOPLE ... OR PUPPIES.
“Ain't it funny how axe handles are made of wood? It's like the ultimate insult to trees.”
― Mark Twain
As the saying goes, mirthful laughter is contagious, so make a point to seek out positive people who aren't afraid to laugh at themselves and who have a knack for finding humor in life's situations.
Puppies and kittens are especially adept at finding laughter and joy in everyday moments.
Studies show that people with pets have lower levels of depression and stress and are less likely to suffer from heart disease.
4.) SKINNY-DIP YOUR MIND INTO THE POOL OF HAPPY MEMORIES -
"Assassins are impressive. It ain't the killing part that impresses me. It's how they up and found a way to put 'ass' into their name twice."
- Mark Twain
Perhaps a friend told you a great joke the other day, your children or pets did something amusing, or maybe you watched a funny movie recently that had you in stitches.
Call on these memories frequently, especially when you are feeling sad, angry or stressed.
Sometimes just reliving a funny moment can cause the endorphins to kick in, which act as natural painkillers and mood boosters.
