January is 'Be on Purpose' month. In our work, we teach people to laugh on purpose for better health - without the use of humor.
"Laugh on pupose?", people ask. "Without jokes?" "You can't be serious!" In the early days, we weren't sure how to encourage the laughter. We quickly realized that the request, or mere suggestion to simply laugh on command, was often met with resistance that felt like several steps backwards from where we wanted everyone to go. Smiling, we thought, might ease the way.
Armed with the knowledge that a mere smile sends cortisol on a hike, while inviting endorphins, the healthy 'feel-good' hormones, surging toward the brain to start dissipating stress, we changed the ask. A smile is all we needed. Author, Mary H. Waldrip said, "Laughter is a smile that bursts." Knowing that smiling is indeed the gateway to laughter, we invited our clients to find a partner, make eye contact, and smile at each other. We initially hoped to break the ice with the smiles. What happened surprised and delighted us - many of the people started to giggle! Before we knew it, the room was filled with joyous laughter!
We now start all our laughter sessions with Smile-Ups, 10 push-ups for your mouth, that do serve as a warm-up for laughter, but also genuinely lead to a lighter feeling amongst participants.
Smiling on purpose seems like the best start to us.
Read more in this article from the Inc. E-newsletter, and challenge yourself during this month devoted to doing things 'on-purpose' to add a 20-minute smile to your day. We won't be a bit surprised if you find yourself smiling more as a regular habit after just a few intentional endorphin rushes. And, without a doubt, this wonderful imagination of an endorphin moving toward the brain to the music of @Paul Messing is sure to bring a big, long, smile to your face!
Don't stop there, though. January 24th is Global Belly Laugh Day, a day when people all over the world gather to celebrate the wonderful benefits of smiling and laughing. The ultimate goal is to join the Belly Laugh Bounce Around the World. That means, at 1:24pm on 1.24, wherever you are, add your unique belly laugh to the joyous laughter of others!
Practicing a 20-second smile will help ease you into it. When you're ready, let out a few chuckles and giggles, and as they become contagious, let them build naturally into belly laughs. You can thank us later!