Passion #16: Laughing.
God I love a laugh. More than, well ahem, doesn't matter... I just love a laugh.
All sorts of laughs. From the, I get it simple chuckle; to the that joke was TOTALLY inappropriate but bloody funny hope no one is watching laugh; and the, can’t believe I am witnessing / doing / hearing this nervous laugh. But there is a laugh that beats a beautiful wine, better than shaved truffles, more enjoyable than night swimming or sleeping children. This laugh hurts. It makes you cry. Your breathing stops. Your belly seizes and it can't be stopped. You just have to laugh through the pain and oxygen starvation until it's over.
Not everyone is a great laugher. In fact, some find
it quite impossible. The dear Propeller Head for example: I like to
think that he is married to an intelligent, good looking funny gal. He agrees
but do you think I can get a rip-roaring laugh out of him? No. In
fact, I recently made a terrible discovery about him. He does laugh... but not
at me...
I was at a work function one night and returned home to a darkened house, lit pale blue with the digital signal from channel 10. There in front of the TV, my darling husband of 9 years was found splitting his sides in laughter. Having never done it for me before, I was intrigued. I crept up behind him, keen to share this beautiful moment and discovered him rolling on his sides laughing hysterically. The cause of this magnificent happiness?
RUSSELL BRAND!
WTF?
It's taken me a while to come to terms with the fact
that the Propeller Head laughs – at a sex-craved dandy in skinny jeans. But
after much research, soul searching and acceptance, I've come to the point
where I'll happily watch him laugh for another. Sometimes I'll
even join in... Because laughing is good for you – especially in the office.
Here are my top 5 reasons for
laughing while you work:
1.
Work IS
insane. There are people, meetings and training courses that defy logic
and common sense. But, “against the assault of laughter nothing can stand,”
said Mark Twain. He was spot on. Your anger and frustration will be wasted on a
ship of fools so laugh at the nonsense of the modern day workplace.
2.
Laughter
helps you lose weight. Ok so this one is a bit dubious. I found it on Dr Kataria’s Laughter
Yoga International page. Surely a reputable source?
3.
Humour
solves problems. It does. Think about all you know about diversity. If a problem
can be seen from a new angle and with objectivity, surely the range of
solutions opens up?
4.
Humour
reduces turnover and absenteeism. Here is another dodgy internet fact
for you: Only 15% of people are sacked for being poor performers. The other 85%
are sacked for not having the people skills and ability to relate to others. Humour
brings people together.
5.
Fun
improves performance and engagement. I understand this intuitively
but when I did my research, I actually discovered that a study of Canadian financial
institutions found that managers with the highest employee performance outcomes
were more likely to use humour in the workplace.
So it’s for the greater good,
that I try to illicit a small laugh (or even just a smirk) when I write some of
my blogs. If you are reading this at work, feel confident that you are not
wasting time: You are dealing with the insanity of work, losing weight, solving
problems, being engaged and performing at a high level.
Should you have made it to through
my 600-ish words and not laughed, you’ll be in good company. The Propeller
Head, just pointed me to Goats that sound like Humans on
u-tube. I didn't laugh much but, then again, I don’t find Russell Brand funny
either.
