The funny line and the bottom line intersect!
In a survey of 737 CEO’s, over 98% of them indicated they would much rather hire somebody with a good sense of humor than somebody without one. You can take your job seriously… and yourself lightly.
2 Jest for the health of it! Laughter enhances respiration and circulation, oxygenates the blood, suppresses the stress-related hormones in the brain, and activates the immune system. Indeed, laughter is the jest medicine.
3 Humor as an antidote to stress: Humor can help us move from a “grim and bear it” mentality to a “grin and share it” orientation. By using humor, you can prevent a “hardening of the attitudes,” which can help you add years to your life and life to your years.
4 “A smile is the shortest distance between
two people,” according to Victor Borge. Humor can be a magnet to attract people, to build positive working relationships, and to improve morale and teamwork.
5 The HAHA-AHA connection: There definitely is a connection between humor and creativity. Humor can jump-start your creativity and give you the energy to think (and laugh) outside the box.
6 The laughing-learning link: Humor can be a powerful (and delightful) way to capture and maintain attention and free up tension… which means that retention increases.
7 Your Resilience Quotient: Norman Cousins’ best-selling book, Anatomy of an Illness, certainly opened up many people’s eyes to the notion that “S/He who laughs lasts.” With humor, you can build resilience and get more smileage out of your life and work.
8 Humor as a saving (and amusing) grace for
the planet: As our world gets proverbially smaller all the time, humor could help build important bridges between countries and cultures. As Erma Bombeck once said, “When humor goes, there goes civilization!”
Adapted from LAUGHING MATTERS magazine published by The HUMOR Project, Inc. Copyright © 2008 The HUMOR Project, Inc.
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Optimisim And You Health
Look for the silver lining…
Buddy DeSylva's upbeat lyrics to Jerome Kern's lovely tune provide an appealing call to a positive outlook on life, even in the face of adversity. Indeed, a cheerful disposition can help you get through the tough patches that cloud every life, but do people who see the glass half-full also enjoy better health than gloomy types who see it half-empty?
According to a series of studies from the U.S. and Europe, the answer is yes. Optimism helps people cope with disease and recover from surgery. Even more impressive is the impact of a positive outlook on overall health and longevity. Research tells us that an optimistic outlook early in life can predict better health and a lower rate of death during follow-up periods of 15 to 40 years.
Measuring optimism
To investigate optimism, scientists first needed to develop reliable ways to measure the trait. Two systems are in widespread use; one measures dispositional optimism, the other explanatory style.
Dispositional optimism depends on positive expectations for one's future. These are not confined to one or two aspects of life, but are generalized expectations for a good outcome in several areas. Many researchers use the 12-item Life Orientation Test to measure dispositional optimism.
Explanatory style is based on how a person explains good or bad news. The pessimist assumes blame for bad news ("It's me"), assumes the situation is stable ("It will last forever"), and has a global impact ("It will affect everything I do"). The optimist, on the other hand, does not assume blame for negative events. Instead, he tends to give himself credit for good news, assume good things will last, and be confident that positive developments will spill over into many areas of his life. Researchers often use either the Attributional Style Questionnaire or the Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations method to evaluate optimism based on explanatory style.
bc is a stress relief expert and humor therapist. His website is www.worldwidebc.com
Buddy DeSylva's upbeat lyrics to Jerome Kern's lovely tune provide an appealing call to a positive outlook on life, even in the face of adversity. Indeed, a cheerful disposition can help you get through the tough patches that cloud every life, but do people who see the glass half-full also enjoy better health than gloomy types who see it half-empty?
According to a series of studies from the U.S. and Europe, the answer is yes. Optimism helps people cope with disease and recover from surgery. Even more impressive is the impact of a positive outlook on overall health and longevity. Research tells us that an optimistic outlook early in life can predict better health and a lower rate of death during follow-up periods of 15 to 40 years.
Measuring optimism
To investigate optimism, scientists first needed to develop reliable ways to measure the trait. Two systems are in widespread use; one measures dispositional optimism, the other explanatory style.
Dispositional optimism depends on positive expectations for one's future. These are not confined to one or two aspects of life, but are generalized expectations for a good outcome in several areas. Many researchers use the 12-item Life Orientation Test to measure dispositional optimism.
Explanatory style is based on how a person explains good or bad news. The pessimist assumes blame for bad news ("It's me"), assumes the situation is stable ("It will last forever"), and has a global impact ("It will affect everything I do"). The optimist, on the other hand, does not assume blame for negative events. Instead, he tends to give himself credit for good news, assume good things will last, and be confident that positive developments will spill over into many areas of his life. Researchers often use either the Attributional Style Questionnaire or the Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations method to evaluate optimism based on explanatory style.
bc is a stress relief expert and humor therapist. His website is www.worldwidebc.com
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