496-What Does Laughter Have To Do with Happiness?

Is laughter the best medicine?  How does laughter improve our happiness? Today we are expanding on a TED Talk with one big idea, that we can all make our world a better place one laugh at a time.  

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and I was watching a TED Talk on changing the world with laughter.  I’ll link in the show notes. The speaker, stand-up-comedian Greg Kettner believes that laughter gets us through life. Because “when we laugh we connect and when we connect, our hearts are open and when our hearts are open, the world is a better place.”  

 

But the staggering statistics are that kids laugh up to 300 times a day where adults laugh only 17 times a day.   He asks the audience a thought provoking question:  do we not laugh because we are stressed or are we so stressed we don’t have time to laugh? 

 

The big idea in this TED Talk was that we can all make our world a better place one laugh at a time.  

 

I was thinking about this as it relates to happiness, because if you’ve listened for a bit, we know, happiness is not just emotions like laughing, but also purpose and satisfaction.  It’s undeniable that one of the best ways to achieve fulfilled happiness is through social connection. See where I’m going with this. 

 

When you hang out with your friends and you laugh the night away, how do you feel?  My mom is a great storyteller and she tells the tales of her experiences and they are funny.  She’s done some stupid stuff that she laughs about all the time.  Everyone loves going to her house.  If she’s had a few beers, she’ll “hold court” and people will be hanging on her every word.  

 

My friend Sue, she lives around the corner from me.  She’s like my mom.  She’s got an arsenal of funny stories, sharing about life.  We sit around her outdoor table, sometimes when it’s chilly, we bring our blankets, and we always laugh.  

 

Laughter is a gift.  It’s a gift we can give others. Not all of us are as gifted at inspiring laughter. But what a gift it is.  Even in school, my kids can tell you who the funny kids are.  They can also recognize the nuance between a class clown, a self-deprecating funny guy, a kind funny kid or the kid that uses others to get a laugh - which they know is a total turn off and needs to be stopped. 

 

I think people want to laugh.  They want to be prompted to laugh. It’s harder as adults, the research is undeniable.  We need to laugh more. Perhaps we are intentional about finding our laugh tribe.  Who is it in your life that brings laughter into your world?     

 

Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious. 

 

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Inspired by: https://www.ted.com/talks/greg_kettner_change_the_world_with_laughter?fbclid=IwAR0zibGOMsFrdfzOfrlsWd0VMCmBnChotSjw4EPwmo7qt71e3xOSxbFYxj4