Were it not for my little jokes, I could not bear the burdens of this office. Abraham Lincoln
The challenge that life often puts before us is one of differentiating between the serious tasks and the joys of living. Most times we need to be focused on our goals and seriously pursue our specific assignments. This can be both stressful and also critical which makes the job on hand look even more daunting and challenging. However within the confines of the regimented work life we need to find our own space to unwind and distress. While communication with co workers and the various tea and lunch breaks do provide some much needed relief far too often the weight of the deadlines and the pressure of pending work overwhelm us.
Amidst the chaos of balancing deadlines and the quirks of daily living, we need to find our own space and diversions so as to soothe our nerves, relax our minds and rejuvenate ourselves to face the new onslaught of work. Laughter in any form is sure shot remedy that frees us of tensions, allows us the luxury of briefly forgetting our pressures and provides the balm for nerves. We need to find humor in the work environment, share a joke or two with colleagues and let our hair down with some practical tomfoolery and backslapping. The commonly practiced Friday casual dressing is an institutionalized method of helping one distress even though one is working. The team building and bonding exercises and the corporate parties organized for team members are other such techniques that have evolved in order to help people cope with the daily grind.
However the real challenge is for each of us to find our own styles of relaxation so that we can chill out and reduce our work tensions. While some of us pursue hobbies others seek to find solace in contemplation and meditation. However the people, who are most relaxed and yet fairly productive are those who can crack jokes, laugh at jokes cracked at their expense and people who can always see the lighter side of even the worst situation. Often they are the focal point of all enthusiastic activity for they transmit their energy to all around. They are natural motivators and cheerleaders who can lift drooping spirits and draw out the best from each one. They also have an infinite capacity to absorb bad news calmly and see the bright side of it. Anyone who can laugh at a good joke even if the joke is on him/ her is truly the most stress free person.
Remember: You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.” Bill Cosby
Try this:
- Make an attempt to recount 3 of your favorite jokes to your friends and family. Ideal it should be clean and healthy humor that you can repeat to your family and kids. See the reactions of those who listen to your jokes. If they don’t laugh uproariously then you need to practice telling your jokes again.
- Think of some of the most horrible experiences you have had. The challenge for you is to think again and find out the humors side of those incidents. Eg. A friend and I met with a motor cycle accident and we were taken to hospital. The friend was withering with pain for he had hurt both hands. I was too shell shocked and hurt on one arm and leg and had a stiff neck. On reaching the hospital my friend was put on a stretcher while I was hobbling along. It was only after the duty doctor in the casualty had a good look at both he ordered my friend to stand up and go walking to the Operation Theater while he forcefully insisted that I lay down on the stretcher since he realized that I had a hairline fracture on the collar bone in addition to the one on my leg and hand and was more seriously injured than my friend.
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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