Every morning, on the way to my office, when I reach the traffic light at Five Points Plaza, I start to laugh. It takes about three to four minutes to drive from there to my office, and I continue to laugh heartily the entire time. I’m alone in the car; no on has told me a joke, 99.9 FM radio is probably reporting depressing news or guests on a talk show are discussing problems in the world today. Yet, I laugh. In order to start myself off, I don’t even try to think of anything funny. I just break into guffaws. If people in the other cars give me wide-eyed stares, I just laugh more. After all, embarrassment breeds laughter.
Why do I put myself through this chortling workout? Because I know that, according to Dr. William Fry, a Stanford psychiatrist who has been a student of laughter of three decades, laughing 100 times a day (about three minutes) is the cardiovascular equivalent of 10 minutes of rowing. Just think of it – all that healthy stuff without the sweat. And: You don’t need water. You don’t even need a boat!
By the end of the three minutes, I feel lighter, less stressed and better able to concentrate. And, like magic, creative ideas start popping up in my mind. Laughter does that to you: HAHA turns into AHHA! I invite you to try laughing yourself silly on command. You’ll probably feel foolish at first. But, guess what? That’s good. Because you’ll laugh even more. Once you start to laugh, even if there’s nothing funny going on, it gets easier to escalate your merriment. Because of your body’s reaction, you feel buoyant. Suddenly, everything starts sounding funny.
Phyliss Shanken, contributor to:
21 Rules to Live By: A Pathway to Personal Growth, p. 62
No comments:
Post a Comment