Laughter is something I just can't get enough of. When pursuing our professional dreams and goals, we sometimes lose sight of how important it is to have fun along the way. If we're not having fun, it can be a signal that it's time to take a small step back, gain some perspective and a fresh view.

April Fools Day is one of those days that reminds me to have a bit of extra fun. Did you know that on average young children laugh about 300 times a day? Adults average about 17 times so given it's the 1st of April I've decided to explore and share some tips on nudging this statistic up! Let's make April a month of laughter! Let's purposefully integrate fun into everything we do this month.

Humour is vital in the pursuit of your goals. Linda Anderson's article on The Quitting Zone outlines some great ideas on pushing through the tough stages of achievement that usually precede the breakthrough you've been waiting for.

Ever experienced history repeating itself at work? Have you observed others making the same mistakes as those before them, re-inventing the wheel over and over again? Felicity Zadro's article explores how capturing your company's history can provide valuable learning for your business and add to the strength of the business and what it stands for.

Here's to an amusing April full of good chocolate and time with loved ones.

Best of life,

 

 

1. Laughter is contagious. Next time you laugh, notice how others follow along, usually without even noticing. Laughter is not something we produce consciously. Ever try to laugh on command? It's tough at best and will take you some time if you are able to force a giggle out at all. The great thing about laughter is that it is more contagious than a cough or a sneeze!
2. Laughter is good for your mental health. Have you ever tried to feel angry, anxious or resentful and experience humour at the same time? You can't do it! Laughter helps to replace distressing emotions with more enjoyable and empowering states.
3. You learn more when you're having fun. Learning is state dependant. Laughter eases muscle tension and stress, which allows our brain to retain more information so we tend to learn more when we are having fun. Remember the subject you had most fun in at school? Chances are you learned much more in that class than the class you most dreaded and never enjoyed.
4. Laughter makes you feel good. Is laughter really the best medicine? Many studies suggest so. Laughter has been associated with positive effects on the body such as lowering blood pressure, increasing infection fighting antibodies and reducing stress hormones. A University of Maryland Medical Centre study indicated that laughter may even help prevent heart disease!
5. Laughter will get you six pack abs. …Well, not quite, but a good hearty laugh is great for your midsection. Laughter gives your facial, abdominal and back muscles a good workout. It can also benefit digestion as it massages abdominal organs and tones intestinal functioning*.

5 Tips To Laugh More

1. Up the comedy stakes. Increase your exposure to things that make you laugh. Choose to read a funny book, hire a funny movie or grab out an old photo album. Hang around with people you find funny.
2. Spend time with the kids. Kids find enjoyment in the simplest of things. Hang out with your kids and play dress up, role play as their favourite super hero or just delight in observing them. If you don't have kids, see if you can borrow someone else's! If all else fails… the family dog can also provide you with hours of funny material.
3. Delight in everyday humour. Take note and smile at the comical little things that happen all around us, everyday. Humans are funny! Dedicate 5 minutes a day to noticing the funny stuff around you. Develop the ability to laugh at yourself.
4. Remember the time you laughed the hardest. Next time you feel stress might be creeping up on you, close your eyes and remember the last time you laughed so hard it hurt. Imagine going back to that time and see what you saw, hear the noises around you and feel the feelings of actually being there.
5. Smile at everyone you walk past. Laughter is contagious after all. Notice what happens during your day when you make a conscious effort to smile at everyone you make eye contact with for 24 hours.

Interested in reading about the science of laughter? Visit:
PsychologyToday.com

* HelpGuide.org

“A day without laughter is a day wasted”
- Charlie Chaplin

Visit our Resources section and find some of the most outstanding free leadership, marketing and coaching resources available online.

We have spent hours researching and developing the best tools and links so you can access them easily.

Take a peek!

by Linda Anderson

Have you ever had a goal, worked really hard to achieve it, persevered through the ups and downs along the way, and then at some stage it all seems too hard and you doubt whether you will ever achieve the goal and so you give up?

This is "The Quitting Zone".

The funny thing about The Quitting Zone is that it almost always occurs just before you will succeed. The difficulty is that you cannot see that success is close ... hence why quitting seems like a great option at that point.

The Quitting Zone is a very common stage people go through when striving to achieve a challenging goal - so how do you pass through the Quitting Zone and get to the other side?

• Re-clarify - Take time out to remind yourself why you want to achieve the goal. What will be the positive impact? How much do you want it?
• Don't fight it - If we accept that The Quitting Zone is a natural phase then there is no need to struggle with it. Choose to pass through with ease. Know that this is temporary and your journey WILL get easier again.
• Celebrate - Take time to celebrate how far you have come. The Quitting Zone is so tempting because we usually forget how much we have already achieved. Write down what you have already accomplished, what obstacles you have overcome and use these to fuel your confidence as you make the last steps towards success.
• Engage Support - Seek out friends, family, a work colleague, mentor or life coach. When things feel tough, it's essential to have other people to give you encouragement and to help you keep focused on the ultimate outcome.
• Keep Moving Forward - One step at a time. Before you know it you will have passed right through The Quitting Zone.

Linda Anderson is a Certified Professional Coach working with Small Business Owners and Professionals in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Linda helps her clients succeed in business and in life by creating strategies to overcome their obstacles to success. In 2002 Linda and her partner sold all their belongings, hit "pause" on their respective careers, and spent 365 days travelling the world. Linda brings this passion for challenge, new experiences and adventure to her coaching.

Visit Linda at:
http://www.a2acoaching.com

What would you like to achieve? Receive a free chapter of her best selling e-book "Don't Just Dream It ... Do It!" at a2aCoaching.com

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

by Felicity Zadro

Everyday whether it feels like it or not, we make history; a project completed, a relationship over, a new job or a milestone birthday. Often when these events take place we only get a few moments to reflect on how we got there and what the chain of events were that led to that point in time.

Friends are great repositories of our history (well sometimes at least) but even if the details are exaggerated (think wedding speeches) our stories reveal important shared values. For example; we were all there celebrating a birthday, respect was shown in a misunderstanding, support was expressed during a break-up.

However, in our working lives tapping into the history of the place that you work may be harder. How do you know the history of where your work started? Do you only know the stories that come out at the Christmas party? What do they say about the company?

Companies record their histories in numerous accidental ways such as financial records, client experiences and staff sharing tales at the water fountain. However, there are benefits to purposefully recording the history of the organisation and many ways of doing it.

The traditional way is to write the history for an upcoming anniversary. This is good if you have the budget but the question begs to be asked, who will actually read it? Compiling a chronological history of the order of events might be informative and a great website filler, but unimaginative. It doesn't reveal the thinking behind 'Changed company name: 1968' or the lessons learnt behind 'Merged with Company X: 1989'.

Finding ways to record the company's history needs to be relevant to what you do. For example, if your work is project related, can you write case studies? Are there photos labelled and stored in hard copy and electronically? Are they of the work and the people? Do you ask for and collate testimonials? Is there a media file for clippings and advertising? Do you store the staff newsletter and other communication products together? Where are all the awards?

The benefits of having all these things are numerous. The obvious one is to use the material to promote the company's work via website content, presentation footage etc. However, it is more valuable that these artefacts can be strategies to encourage future employees, suppliers and industry colleagues to have a greater understanding of the 'personalities, values and turning points'** that created the company.

These artefacts can reveal the core values and aspirations of the company's foundations and perhaps some things that have been lost. For example, was there a strong team feel? Was being the best or the most creative the most important thing to everyone? Were the relationships based on respect or loyalty? Did humour play a big part? How did people socialise? Who has been influential and what legacy did they leave? How have relationships between founders and managers changed?

New staff enter a process of acculturation; they have to learn the stories, personalities and history to really understand what is going on or 'how things work around here' or in other terms the culture of the organisation. What better way to communicate these things consistently than with company history?

Further still, the purposeful recording of history helps to keep the essence of the company strong; something very important in riding out tough times.

It can also bring commercial gain. 'A company that documents its history gains significant competitive advantage. Your legacy reminds the world that your business is built on enduring values and that it is here to stay'**. Everyone loves it when a waiter can explain the history of the restaurant or building, a sales person the development of the product and company - it enriches the client's experience.

So what does your company's history say about its future?

Does it say, 'we value excellence in everything we do', 'we are here to stay', 'we are great at customer service'. Or does it say 'we react rather than plan', 'we need to be better at strategic planning', 'we need to be clearer about staff expectations', 'we need to get better at OH&S', 'managing our reputation is now a priority' or 'we need to laugh more'.

Whatever your history says about your future, it is worth listening to. Share the story and see what others think it says and most importantly act on it - in some cases history repeating itself is not a good thing.

..on a more personal note, always remember to keep your friends away from new partners, because sometimes our history is better left in the past!

**http://www.corporatehistory.net/index.html

Felicity Zadro is a communication practitioner with special interests in cultural change and cross cultural issues. She has 10 years of experience in the third sector working on health, research, promotion and multicultural issues. She is currently the national Communications Manager for a staging and events company and is a part time academic at UTS in the School of Public Communication. Felicity also manages a consultancy which specialises in providing communication services and social analysis.

Find out more about Felicity Zadro

Because of all the other demands on your time, marketing planning often becomes a transaction and a bit of a chore. Brave's Masterful Marketing Planning workshops add the fun back into brand planning and inspire you toward innovative strategy and action plan development.

Our workshops are tailored to meet the needs and experience of your team and even better still, we facilitate the process so you can concentrate on doing what you do best!

Find out more
Download a brochure
Book in a free taster