Poopinator Articles  :-)

How to Improve your Health with Laughter

and a Sense of Humor

by Mary Andrews

If you had the power to:

- Reduce stress, boost your immunity to everything from the common cold to cancer, instantly relax, be more resilient from stress, improve memory and creativity, reduce pain from ailments such as arthritis and headaches, lower blood pressure, lower blood glucose levels (a key factor in diabetes), open your lungs, and keep your heart healthy by increasing blood flow, all with no negative side effects – Would you use that power?

Since the 1980’s, researchers have been studying the impact that laughter and a sense of humor have on the body. The results have been consistently positive and amazing. Laughter and a sense of humor have emotional, physical, mental and spiritual benefits. Physically, in addition to lowering the amount of stress chemicals in the body, such as cortisol, that lower immunity, laughter causes an increase in immune cells that fight infection. Have you ever belly laughed so hard that you lose your strength? That’s because laughter automatically causes muscles to relax. Relaxation has been linked to effective stress management and pain management.

Thanks to technology, one of the most interesting findings has been that having a sense of humor activates all parts of the brain. When someone tells us a joke, although we seem to be just passive listeners, our brains are actually very active searching our memory banks and putting pieces of the joke together so that we see the humor or understand the punch line. Since laughter also raises the heart rate and increases blood flow to the heart, frequent laughter is an excellent way for bedridden patients to exercise their brain, heart and lungs.

Emotionally, developing and maintaining a sense of humor greatly affects how resilient we are from both everyday stress and more intense stress. Living with a sense of humor under your belt is like going roller blading with knee pads, elbow pads and a helmet on. It doesn’t mean we won’t hit a few bumps and fall occasionally, but it does mean we get back on our feet much quicker and with less bruises. Can anyone develop a sense of humor? Absolutely yes! It’s simple, really.

Here are EASY STEPS TO DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING A SENSE OF HUMOR:

1. Let go of the need to be right and/or perfect. Most humor can be found in our imperfections.

LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF JUST AS YOU ARE, flaws and all.

2. Don’t be defensive if someone teases you about something. If you look for an element of truth to what they are teasing you about, often a humorous side to the situation will be revealed.

3. Keep a journal of anything that strikes you as even remotely funny. Be patient with yourself as you find your own personal humor style.

4. Make sure there is at least one thing in your life you love to do. Whether it is work or hobby, when there is something you are excited about in your life, it is much easier to come through the tough times stronger, wiser, and with a sense of humor.

So, now that you know you have the power, WILL YOU USE IT? May the giggles be with you :-)

The Slacker's Guide to Easy Goal Achievement

by Mary Andrews

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Confucius

If you are a slacker, well, carry on! Whatever floats your boat. I wrote this because a beloved slacker friend of mine found himself in a situation he was never in before: Something touched his heart and he was suddenly inspired with a DESIRE and a GOAL. Since slackers don't very often have desires and goals that inspire them, he didn't know what to do! Like a true slacker, he tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't leave him alone. He needed a plan, but nothing that would requre too much of his energy.

Then one day it hit me. While waiting on line at the supermarket, I overheard a loving but frustrated mother say to her defiant toddler, “You better watch out because cuteness will only get you so far!” To my surprise, the little boy responded to her playful tone with a giggle and cooperation. “Cuteness will only get you so far.” It’s brilliant! What an easy, playful way to get results.

What would happen if you spoke to yourself like that - with loving discipline? Psychologists, success coaches and mind/body experts have been telling us the importance of our SELF-TALK. The general idea is that we achieve, perform, act, earn, respond, and speak in ways congruent with what we consistently tell ourselves, and what we believe to be true deep down.

Too lazy to talk to yourself? You can just THINK your way into having what you want. The other easy, fun and very under-used tool is VISUALIZATION. See and FEEL yourself already having and doing whatever it is you want. Ok, a small amount of consistent, focused action is required to get what you want, but keep reading, because it's easier than you think. For example, if I am constantly telling myself that I am fat, in a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy way, even if it’s not true, I can make it true if I continue to talk to myself that way.

On the other hand, if one of my goals is to get in shape and lose weight, if I regularly tell myself that I am strong and toned, I significantly increase my chances of making that a reality. How can I tell myself that I'm strong and lean when really I'm overweight and out of shape? Great question. Call it ONE TIME as it is now. "I'm fat and out of shape, and want to change." There, I said it. I'm not in denial. I'm facing the problem and am now ready to deal with it. And that will be the LAST TIME I call myself fat and out of shape.

From now on, as I take steps toward my goal, I will tell myself that I am strong and toned!  If this is a stretch and feels like a lie, PROGRESSIVE affirmations work great. Just add the words, "I am beginning to believe that I am......" before your statement.  For example, tell yourself, "I am beginning to believe - or - I am moving toward being strong and toned. I am more toned everyday."

Turns out it is our subconscious mind, not our conscious mind, that controls most of our behavior and determines the results we get. It also turns out that most of our self-talk is a habit. Get in the habit of saying positive, encouraging things to yourself. It makes a big difference in your mood, energy level, and chances of success in every endeavor.

So now that we know a little better how the brain and mind work, we can use this information to to our advantage. When I was in high school, I was once labeled an “overachiever.” I set goals then worked really hard – too hard – to make them happen. I was exhausting myself and expending energy in the wrong ways. I was struggling to achieve.

Having burned myself out, I got through college by being more relaxed about goals and by often doing the minimum amount of work required to pass a class. Although this more relaxed style fit my personality better, something still wasn’t right. Not only wasn't I accomplishing anything, most importantly, I WASN'T HAPPY. Because of how I had burned myself out, I came to think of self-discipline and work as negative and counter productive. To me discipline was a dirty word. But that wasn’t right either.

So, how does it work? When should we be relaxed about achievement and when should we give extra effort? There are several pieces to this puzzle, but the answer is surprisingly simple. First, we must understand the difference between EFFORT and STRUGGLE. Effort is natural, necessary and healthy. Struggle is unnatural, unhealthy and futile.

We must next discover our natural talents and passions. These are the key to our happiness and prosperity. (for a fun and simple way to discover your natural passions, go to www.PassionTest.com ) Next, we must learn to work with these natural talents. We are all born with natural abilities, talents and gifts. Sometimes a person’s talents are obvious at a young age, and other times, they are not revealed until a later time. But it is extremely important to know that you have at least one unique talent, even if you don’t know what it is yet. I’ve heard many accounts (I’m in this category too) of people ignoring a talent because they had a gift that came very easy to them, but they were brought up to believe that in order to succeed, they must work HARD.

So if something comes easy to us, it must be wrong, right? Nothing could be farther from the truth! When you learn to work with your natural talents and passions, you will experience “being in the flow.” YOUR flow, not someone else’s. This is when the magic starts to happen in your life. You will be exerting natural effort, but not struggle. At first it will seem too easy, but you'll just be in your flow.

Next, set a goal or goals, no matter how small. If you have a big goal, it is best to break it up into several small goals. I am a huge fan of BABY STEPS. So,

- WAIT TO BE INSPIRED to achieve a goal in an area you truly ENJOY. A slacker won't be motivated unless the goal truly excites him.

- BELIEVE that you can achieve it. This is KEY. To help you get into the right frame of mind, recall any incident where you felt successful and a sense of pride.

- SEE it happening. FEEL yourself already having your goal.

- ASK to have it. (Ask God, the Universe….)

- Give yourself PERMISSION to have it. This is important so that you don’t self-sabotage.

- Take conscious, FOCUSED ACTION toward your goal. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF BABY STEPS. ***This is the time for healthy, disciplined effort. There is something you can do right now that will only take 5 or 10 minutes of focused effort, but will move you exponentially toward your goal. This is the time to expend just a little extra energy and effort in order to yield big rewards.

For example, a musician who is in his natural flow is doing what comes natural to him and brings him joy, but he is also exerting time and energy practicing, writing and rehearsing. Maybe he's faced with a daily choice of whether to watch more television, or to practice a particularly difficult song, then relax after practice with more tv. It's amazing what we can do with small nuggets of time focused on a specific project on a consistent basis. The trick is consistency of the right kind of focused action. This way you don't waste time working for nothing!

Movie director Drew Heriot calls it "plurk" - a mix of play and work. That's healthy effort. Remember to monitor what you say to yourself on a consistent basis. If we spoke to ourselves like the mother in the supermarket spoke to her toddler, and treated ourselves with LOVING, HEALTHY, SELF-DISCIPLINE, we would all be much happier and successful. You are lovable. You are cute. We know that. (Everyone’s cute in one way or another!) 

When it comes to achievement, success, happiness, and prosperity, remember CUTENESS WILL ONLY GET YOU SO FAR! In summary, if you start using POSITIVE SELF TALK and VISUALIZATION, combined with a goal in an area you generally ENJOY, you will achieve more than you ever thought a slacker could do! And most of the "work" is done without getting off the couch!

Now, get to "plurk" and go do what you were born to do!