“Learning and laughter work nicely together.”

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“Learning and laughter work nicely together.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Lucas Lenzi

We’ve all heard the phrase, Laughter is the best medicine. I’ve found that there is considerable support that humor and laughter enhance our ability to learn.

Cognitively, laughter stimulates the brain regions important for complex and abstract thinking, increases attention, improves memory, and increases conceptual understanding.

Even a few chuckles activate brain growth hormones and increase our reward centers via dopamine.

Emotionally, laughter provides a sense of empowerment and control, improves self-esteem, restores hope and boosts energy. It also reduces many stress-related conditions that often make learning difficult.

Psychologically, laughter improves respiration and mental functioning through increased levels of catecholamine.

It is no surprise that many highly successful and popular educators are blending a bit of stand-up comedy, engaging storytelling, and performing arts into their teaching styles.

EXERCISE:

Where and how can the inclusion of more humor support learning for you and others in you communities? My grandkids will tell you When you make things fun, stuff gets done.

247 Years Ago Today…

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247 Years Ago Today…

Image from Unsplash by Tom Dahl

I wonder if the founders of this country gave thought to how their vision might change over the decades and centuries. I wonder—if traveling into the future—they would recognize their ideals at work, or wonder themselves at the dramatic changes in every aspect of life since their time.

What does independence mean to you? What does freedom mean to you?

How have you benefited from the foresight of men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other leaders of this land?

Today, my family and I wish you all a happy and healthy Independence Day, and hope that before the BBQ, the beach, and/or the fireworks, you will take some time to consider what it means to YOU to be free to make choices for yourself.

What would you do with yourself if there were no problems to solve

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What would you do with yourself if there were no problems to solve? How often do we make up problems to give us something to do?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Jonathan Maybe

Imagine you are a business owner or executive working 80+ hours a week.

What if you are a homemaker or caregiver putting in just as many or more hours?

What would happen if you were given a golden ticket which suddenly takes all of the responsibilities and other burdens off your shoulders? What might you do with your own mini-sabbatical?

Consider the following activities and the problems you might create:

  • Planning and going on a two-week cruise or vacation
  • Setting up tee times and playing unlimited rounds of golf for a week
  • Planning and checking off 2 or 3 bucket list activities
  • Visiting family and friends in multiple states you haven’t seen in years
  • Make up a one- or two-week adventure of your own

EXERCISE:

How did it feel to contemplate those scenarios?

What would it be like to increase the problems of your choosing?

How important is problem-solving for you to feel engaged, purposeful and alive?

Friday Review: Mentoring

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Friday Review: Mentoring

Who do you consider a mentor? Who considers you a mentor? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”

 

 

 

 

“Life is amazing, and the teacher had best prepare himself to be a medium for that amazement.”

 

 

 

 

“Show them the doors that they didn’t know existed.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live as if you were living a second time

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“Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time.”

—Victor Frankl, late Jewish-Austrian holocaust survivor and psychiatrist

Image from Unsplash by Robert Ruggiero

For the weekend or occasional golfer, a mulligan is something many players covet.

It’s an opportunity, usually on both the front and back 9’s, to have a do-over on a whiff or missed hit that could sink a decent round. Even if it is never used by a player, they sure appreciate the fact that it’s there just in case.

We all experience many errant shots in life where things go out of bounds and miss their targets. These events often cascade into negative spirals of thinking, and we give up too soon.

EXERCISE:

Give yourself another chance to do better with your next shot. With this personal permission and practice, don’t be surprised if you start shooting some of the best scores of your life.

Adults need recess too

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“Adults need recess too.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Proxyclick Visitor Management System

On most weekday, I get to have recess with my friends between 2 and 3 p.m..

We all enjoy playing table tennis, which gives us a chance to kick back, catch up, and of course, compete.

In years past, I always considered play as an unnecessary indulgence and something you only do when all the work was done.

Sadly, for most of us, it never is.

This attitude has made me a pretty serious guy and a bit of a fuddy-duddy.  All work and no play definitely made me pretty dull and telling me to lighten up definitely didn’t work.
Thank goodness for the coaching I’ve received from my grandchildren over the years.  As a pop-pop with a bit of extra time, I have been able to ease off the gas pedal of work and see play as a critical part of a full and happy life.

EXERCISE:

How often do you take the time to play and have fun?

What activities feel like recess for you?

How can and will you make these pursuits a more integral part of your life?

“It’s break time for your problem-solving mind.”

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“It’s break time for your problem-solving mind.”

—Jeff Warren, author of The Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness

Image from Amazon

When do you have the most focus and ability to concentrate in a typical day? What duration of time is optimal before you begin losing this edge? How often do you press on beyond this noticeable decline in effectiveness?

In much the same way our bodies need to rest, renew, and recharge from physical exertion, our minds need periodic breaks to do the same.

Reading is a good example. How long is it before you start rereading the same sentence or need to go back a paragraph or two to comprehend and grasp various types of material?

One strategy that can be helpful is to switch between physical and mental activities to give the other capacity a break. At times when you are using both a total break may be the solution you’re looking for.

EXERCISE:

Do a google search on various productivity hacks. The Pomodoro Technique and the 20-Minute Rule are two approaches for your consideration.

Role models and mentors are flesh and blood representations of what is possible for you

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Role models and mentors are flesh and blood representations of what is possible for you. If they did what they did, you can too.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Eunice De Guzman

In the world of achievement there are plenty of examples of people who have been there and done that. We often view and imbue these people with super-human powers and abilities, and see ourselves as frail and flawed.

When we see people this way, we are almost always missing the full picture.

These individuals stumble and fall like the rest of us. They bleed, they have wounds and scars that often go hidden. What many of them do better and more often is pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and go at it again and again.

EXERCISE:

Interview some of the role models and mentors you’ve had over the years. Pay particular attention to how they managed various types of adversity to become the people you’ve come to respect and admire.

Friday Review: Honesty

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Friday Review: Honesty

Where and when is honesty most important to you? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“Empower me to exercise the authority of honesty, and be a participant in the difficult ordinariness of now.”

 

 

 

“I keep six honest serving men: (They taught me all I knew) Their names were Where and What and When and Why and How and Who.”

 

 

 

 

“Tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable.”

 

 

 

The best kind of laughter is laughter born of a shared memory

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“The best kind of laughter is laughter born of a shared memory.”

—Mindy Kaling, American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer

Image from Unsplash by Surface

How familiar are you with the work of Carol Burnett? If you are a boomer like me, you made a point to never miss her variety show during her eleven-year run near the top of the TV ratings.

Her work was definitely family friendly, and I can vividly recall all of us crowding around our single TV to laugh together until our sides hurt.

A few weeks ago, Wendy and I got to relive many of these hilarious moments as a star-studded group of her friends got together to celebrated Carol’s 90th birthday.

The closing song on her show always began: I’m so glad we had this time together, just to have a laugh and sing a song……

EXERCISE:

Take a few minutes to recall some of your own laugh-filled memories. Note the people who shared these belly laughs and happy times and consider giving them a call to reminisce.