Attitude Shaping and Shifting: Laugh

The study of humor and laughter, and it’s psychological and physiological effects on the human body is called gelotology. Who knew?…. In 1979, writer Norman Cousins wrote about how laughter helped him recover from a serious illness. He took Marx Brothers films and watched them on a daily basis. Since then, numerous studies have tended to support the value of humor in treating everything from colds to cancer. Even the Bible tells us in Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. "

But it doesn’t take a scientific study to know that laughter changes your mind body state for the better. Increase your time laughing and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll improve your outlook and attitude. And like any lifestyle, laughter can be cultivated as a habit.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Hang out with other laughers and people who are fun. Laughter like yawning and lots of other things is contagious.
2. Learn to find the funny side to every day calamities. The fender bender car accident, the hotel toilet paper holder placed just out of reach, and the stubbed toe all can be laughed at, if not immediately, then shortly there after. Most of us, myself included, usually take ourselves way too seriously. There is a huge difference between lumpy oatmeal and a lump in our breast but often we react to them just the same.
3. Collect a few good comedy albums. I don’t think I’m a prude but I suggest staying toward the cleaner end of the comedy spectrum. I won’t argue that some of the other comedians aren’t very funny because some are. I just think that in the long run you’ll be happier and healthier if what you laugh at is clean. I’m not just talking about language and sexuality. Put down humor isn’t a good idea either. I grew up listening to Don Rickles. But like a lot of things, it’s all fun and games until some one gets hurt. The person that listens to put down humor can quickly slip into putting their spouse and kids down to get laughs at their expense. This can do serious damage.

My favorite style of comedy is observational which is what Jerry Seinfeld is so great at. He does a whole thing about cotton balls and how women need thousands and men don’t seem to need any. He sees the funny side of things we all see but don’t really pay attention to. Jay Leno and David Letterman do observational humor often about the news of the day. If you want to get inside the head of some of the comic greats Laugh.com has a whole series of interviews. My favorites are the Seinfeld interview and the Johnny Carson Interview.

To try some fresh comedy you may not have heard, check out albums by Jeff Allen, Michael Jr., Gilbert Esquivel, Brad Stine, Thor Ramsey, Ron McGehee, and Kerri Pomarolli. Their albums are all available on Itunes.

Lastly, start your day in the comic section of the newspaper. Some days it’s one of the few positive things you’ll read there. I recommend clipping and collecting your favorites. I have several hundred collected on the topic of selling alone and sometimes use them to introduce a topic in sales training. My favorites are Frank and Earnest, The Far Side, Herman, Ziggy, Peanuts, Bizzaro, and Dilbert. I also keep my eye out in the Wall Street Journal and various business magazines.