Ho Ho HA HA HA!
So often we hear the saying, "Laughter is the best
medicine." I agree. Don't you? Think of one of your
best memories. Was there laughter in it? The best
memories I have are those where I have shared a
good laugh with someone. Some of my laughter
memories come from high school when I had the
opportunity to act in plays. At after school practices,
"wannabe" thespians who came from all walks of
school life (jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, punks, etc)
would struggle to learn our lines and stage cues.
During these hours of practice, there was stress, but
there was also a lot of laughter and connecting with
others. One year, we performed Thornton Wilder's
play, "Our Town." The entire cast had to learn the
church hymn, "Blest Be the Tie That Binds." Our
voices cracked, cackled and fluctuated, but we
trudged (and laughed) through the song the best we
could. Today, whenever I hear the song, I am
catapulted back 20+ years in my mind to laughing
with my fellow thespians. It reminds me that laughter
truly is the tie that binds. We are all, as Shakespeare
said, "players on the world's stage" - trying to hit the
right line when the cue comes. Laughter can help
the stressful or hard-to-get scenes go much
smoother.
For any team, Laughter:
- brings different people together, quickly, for the
purpose of performing at optimum levels
- breaks down barriers and urges connections without
the barriers of stereotypes or titles
- eases stress, nervousness, and
worry about "not getting it right" when the team needs to
focus
- makes the most difficult of situations tolerable and can
help you get perspective on what the issue really is.
Is opening day for the play getting closer and team
members aren't performing up to par? Add
some laughs to break the cycle and get your actors on
cue! 3 simple things you can do today are:
1. Take a humor break. Have everyone in the office
get together for 5 minutes and tell a funny story about
his or her childhood - something NOT work related!
2. Subscribe to a "joke of the day" email distribution
and forward it out to your co-workers when you get it.
Remember the platinum rule: Treat others the way
THEY want to be treated. Jokes should NEVER be at
anyone else's expense!
3. Laugh for laugh's sake. Find the funny in all that
goes on at your work and share those things with co-
workers. It doesn't take long for the funny to jump out at
you!
Be the one that helps the scenes go smoother, your
actors perform better, and the one that "binds those ties"
with laughter and kindness! It takes very little effort to
lighten the load of others and I think you will find that
you will get standing ovations and plenty of encore
performances!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"It is sometimes expedient to forget who we are."
- Publilius Syrus (42 B.C.)
Keep laughing, leading, rockin', and connecting!
- Chip
