Humor In Tough Times
Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions.”
Even though the country is going through a major recession it is important to stay positive. Finding humor and incorporating laughter in our lives can at least help ease the stress of all the negativity we are constantly being surrounded by today. While the news is always negative it seems with the recession it is even more so; the majority of commercials on television today are about bankruptcy, short-sales, and re-modification.
So what do you do? Turning off the TV for a few days is one solution. And if you think you are missing something important in the news you can turn the TV back on and I guarantee you the majority of the news will be the same thing you were listening to before you turned off the television. Negative talk about the recession, crime and scandals, the only thing different is the dates and the names will be different but the news will be basically the same. Take the time you were spending watching Television to find fun and more positive things to do. Spend time with friends who make you laugh. Start playing games again, especially games where you interact with friends. Find games that your friends like that evoke laughter, like Pictionary. A game that is competitive but more than competitive it can be funny at the same time. We don’t have to spend a lot of money to have fun. I enjoy playing the Wii with friends, but if you can’t afford it then play an old-fashioned bored game you can have just as much fun. If you have to watch television, limit yourself from watching too much news and turn to a sit-com or something on the comedy channel. A show that will make you laugh and help ease the tension of tough times.
Surround yourself with positive funny people. Do you hang around people who bring you down? Are they always negative? Always complaining? Why are you spending so much time with them, because they are friends? Friends should not always bring you down. If so, are they really friends? If you are the one who has to supply all the positive emotions in the relationship you are getting cheated from your happiness. Putting all the positive energy in the relationship and not receiving any can be draining and bring you down. I’m not saying drop them completely from your life, but try and limit your time with negative people. Start enjoying the company of people that bring humor and laughter and other positive emotions into the relationship.
Do something different. Get out of the house and take an improv class. Want to put more laughter in your life find an improve class, not only will it teach you to be funny but it will help you find the funny in you. You will be surrounded by people who will make you laugh. If you are shy and suffer from stage fright go to your local comedy club and let them supply the humor. Just don’t sit at home and dwell on the recession.
Much of the stress we are experiencing is about things we have no control over, but there are many things we can do to reduce that stress. Putting Laughter in our life will help us tap into positive emotions and help up get through tough times.