Don’t you just love being around someone who laughs or who can make you laugh? Have you found yourself at work and co-workers are standing together, talking and laughing hysterically at something, and you want to walk over and ask them to include you in the conversation and laughter? Of course you have. It is natural for us to be attracted to laughter and those laughing. Our brains are pleasure seeking organs and laughter releases chemicals that cause pleasure so it seeks to find more laughter to receive the pleasure it desires.
Daily life can be made happier. It is a matter of choice. It is our attitude that makes us feel happy or unhappy. It is true, we meet all kinds of situations during the day, and some of them may not be conductive to happiness. We can choose to keep thinking about the unhappy events, and we can choose to refuse to think about them, and instead, relish the happy moments. All of us constantly go through various situations and circumstances, but we do not have to let them influence our reactions and feelings.
If we let outer events influence our moods, we become negative instead of positive. We are not in control of our health and mental health because we “blow in the wind” with moods and emotions. We lose our freedom. We let our happiness be determined by outer forces. However, we can free ourselves from outer influences. We can be in control and CHOOSE to be happy, and we can do a lot to add happiness to our lives.
Choosing to embrace joy and happiness doesn’t mean dismissing emotions of fear, anger, and deep sadness. But embracing joy is a deliberate act of defiance against the negative emotions which may reduce justice. And in addition, joy can amplify the voices of marginalized communities beyond pain to light their creativity and contributions to people’s rights.
Joy can also contribute to advocacy – it allows us to envision a future in which rights, equality, freedom for everyone is attained. Shared laughter and joy fosters connection, intimacy in relational literacy, and belonging which are essential items for effective advocacy. If one is wanting to find ways to push back against oppression, considering reclaiming laughter and joy celebration as a radical act. Live for the future you want now!
What is happiness? It is a feeling of inner peace and satisfaction. It is usually experienced when there are no worries, fears or obsessing thoughts, and this usually happens, when we do something we love to do or when we get, win, gain or achieve something that we value. It seems to be the outcome of positive events, but it actually comes from the inside, triggered by outer events.
For most people, happiness seems fleeting and temporary, because they allow external circumstances to affect it. One of the best ways to keep it, is by gaining inner peace through daily meditation. As the mind becomes more peaceful, it becomes easier to choose the happiness habit.
Laughter has been found to have many positive side effects like reducing blood pressure, relieving stress, helping people breath better, increasing endorphins and more.
Here are some tips for increasing your happiness every day:
- Endeavor to change the way you look at things. Be positive and try to find the things that seem or feel negative and reframe it to find the lessons needing to be learned or the humor that might be in it that emotions/feelings hide.
- Listen to relaxing and uplifting music. Certain music brings anxiety, stress, and anger into our lives so be aware of what you are listening to.
- Watch funny movies and/or comedies and laugh out loud.
- Devote some time to reading a funny book or inspiring article.
- Watch your thoughts. Rumination are those endless “voices/messages” we are having in our head all day long. 75% to 78% are negative so we need to change then to positive.
- Be aware of your accomplishments and focus on the good job done and not on what you haven’t finished. You can add the unfinished to the next day and do it first and move on to what you want to accomplish that day. Don’t do more than what one can do in one day so not to overwhelm yourself and expect more than you can deliver.
- Each day do something good for yourself. It may something small or something large – that is up to you. But your are important so enjoying a personal pleasure and smiling is healing. When you make someone happy, you become happy.
- Always expect happiness.
- Be happy for others success and happiness.
- Associate and be with other happy people – happiness is contagious.
- Laugh and smile every day as a habit.
Laughter and Joy are strong medicine’s for mind and body and the soul!
“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”
Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.
With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.
Kathie Mathis, Psy.D, D.D., NCP#00775, CLC, CBIF, CAMS-IV, CDVC, CSAC, CEO California Cognitive Behavioral Institute and Master Trainer