“If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.” ― Robert Frost
The world seems to become more complex by the day and there seem to be more and more things we need to attend to in every sphere of our life. We get bombarded with information and things we feel we have to keep up with. Life can feel overwhelming. When we feel pressurized or overwhelmed, laughter is a powerful tool to shift ourselves and others. Clean laughter can dispel stress, tension and negativity. It is a breeze of cool air in the heat and a breeze of warmth in the cold.
Have you ever had tension building up in your life to a point where you started telling yourself how everything seemed to work against you? I had such a situation recently. It seemed as if all my efforts to solve certain issues were not bearing fruit and more and more obstacles seemed to come my way. I started to generate a narrative of other people doing all the wrong things and about their ill intent.
Only when I stepped out of my seriousness and laughed at the situation I could shift my energy and regain the confidence in my ability to manage the situation and find solutions.
Have you ever noticed how your seriousness and your laughter affect other people around you? If you are a manager, have you noticed how your own levels of stress get passed on people you manage? Have you noticed how your laughter gets also passed on?
Laughter changes the energy, your own and those of your colleagues, your team, your friends, your family. It breaks the tension, disarms conflict and energizes. It can put things into perspective in a way that we are able to step away from focusing on what is gloomy and not working and look at the broader picture of what really matters. With laughter we stop taking ourselves so seriously.
And yes, clean, positive laughter and jokes belong into the workplace because they build trust and help build strong, positive relationships within which we can communicate more effectively.
Research shows that laughter increases productivity and creativity because our minds perform better and more flexibly when we feel more positive and motivated. Dr. Madan Kataria founded a global laughter club where people learn to laugh through laughter yoga exercises. He does a lot of work in the business world.
Children laugh all the time. As adults, somewhere along the line we start generating more and more serious thoughts and we lose the ability to laugh and have fun. Our children can teach us a lot about laughing. And we will see. As soon as we smile and laugh our body feels different. Life starts to feel worth-while.
Laughter boosts the immune system, oxygenates our brain and reduces the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Research shows that it can assist with healing.
Working with laughter and humour is a leadership skill to develop. It is critical for developing a presence that is approachable and positive and for enabling an environment in which your team can flourish and maximize their performance. And perhaps, even more so, it is critical for our own wellbeing, resilience and sanity.
Have you laughed today?
Reference: http://www.laughteryoga.org/english/home