We are getting close to Christmas so we should be having fun shouldn’t we? Having fun will mean many different things to many people and if we don’t enjoy ourselves what is life all about anyway. I have always said I am not a “happy clappy” type of coach but being happy and being comfortable in our own skin is a key part of having a meaningful life.
One of my readers (sounds like I am an author!) responded after my September newsletter with the following; “ to be happy you need someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to,” which makes enormous sense to me.
I attended a networking session at Gravesend (what an unfortunate name!) where Invicta Chamber of Commerce put on a great day in a town which really looked to be working together and enjoying themselves. The Borough Council seemed to be fully engaged with the community. A chap called Bill Morrow was talking from Angelsden and although he wouldn’t be everybody’s cup of tea, he made some interesting observations.
He works with 8400 investors from around the world who have at least £250K to invest which only accounts for 8/9% of their assets. Many of these people have obviously been extremely successful and after an average career spanning 28 years and a 14 month retirement they need to get involved with other projects. So you would think the main reason why they do this is to make more money but this is only reason number 3. Number 2 was altruism and number 1 was having fun!
Many of these successful entrepreneurs realised they needed something else in their lives. (See October Meaningful Moments based on Sense of Purpose)
So let me put you in the hands of Laughter Coach Caroline-
Having fun is surely frivolous when there is so much to be doing in our busy lives – or is it? To me having fun is an essential part of a busy life, without fun we become stressed and despondent. Fun and laughter is an energy giver far from taking us away from the things we need to do, laughter actually helps us to function more efficiently. When we laugh we let go of tension. Tension is tiring, it wears us out and takes our attention away from the task at hand.
Normally we only use 25% of our lung capacity (you don’t want to know about the 75% that is not used) Laughter is a big exhalation it enables us to breath out stale oxygen and draw in more fresh oxygen than you normally would and your body function improves (You feel less tired). Gosh who would have thought all you need to feel more energised is fun and laughter because laughter could have a similar effect to sleep – now that has to be a helpful to know! – get giggling!
Laughter brings people together. We can share a smile and laugh with people even without speaking to them and shared experiences help us to feel connected to people. “The shortest distance between 2 people is a smile” (Victor Borge) People who laugh regularly tend to have stronger relationships. They are more relaxed and easier going – who doesn’t want that?
When we have fun we utilise other parts of our brain and in so doing it enables us to utilise left and right brain and becoming more creative and better problem solvers. This is just a few of the benefits of fun and laughter and I am sure you have many, many more thoughts about how amazing laughing is. Though sometimes we do neglect to give this the priority it deserves in our lives don’t we?
Laughter workshops are a way of ensuring you dedicate sometime to yourself and your laughter. Come and enjoy a good laugh with me www.kentlaughtercoach.co.uk.
I hope you have fun this Christmas and if you need any help with laughter please get in touch with Caroline. If you want a coach to talk to regarding balance of life and making sure you have fun in 2015, please get in touch with neil@nvwsolutions.co.uk or see my website www.nvwsolutions.co.uk
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