Weekly Challenge
Fun, Laughter and Joy
As we head into St Patrick’s weekend, I have found myself looking forward to the long weekend and I have a very clear expectation that there will be music, parades and laughter and maybe even a few drinks involved although not necessarily in that order. Even some non-Irish friends associate the celebration of being Irish with partying and generally having a good time.
As most of us have only just recovered from more snow than we are familiar with and the country pretty much shut down for that, we are ready yet again to find joy and celebrate and rest awhile away from work.
In our day-to-day lives it is very easy to get caught up in the routines, and the perceived pressures and stresses and forget to make time for fun and laughter. In fact, I am very aware that I have a number of friends and associates and as their stress level rises their ability to laugh, find joy and engage in fun activities goes way down.
And yet, a good behavior pattern of engaging in fun and laughter would support their resilience to stress. There are some individuals in my life you have the gift of always being able to find just the right amount of laughter to lift any stressful situation and I sometimes watch in awe as they lift the atmosphere seemingly effortlessly. I wish I was like that but it is not talent. However I am very appreciative of them in my life.
And so I have a couple of questions for you.
- Are you the person who creates the laughter or do you need others for that?
- When is the last time you belly laughed?
- When is the last time you got totally caught up in a comedy show or movie?
- When is the last time you had child like fun (apart from the recent snow)?
If you find that you are struggling to remember and it is weeks or maybe even months ago then what do you need to do so that you prioritise having fun this week?
And more importantly what action(s) do you need to take so that you can integrate fun into your daily routines to support you and help build your resilience to life’s stresses?
Warm Wishes
Mary
And remember, if you look around you on St Patrick’s weekend I am sure you will find a source of fun!