Work with Laughter

I was sitting in the athletic office with two wise men—or perhaps two wise guys—who asked me how I deal with stress.  I didn’t have good answers right off the top of my head, but I’ve been kicking around some ideas and have come to the conclusion that humor, and more specifically, laughter, may be one of the most important components for me. 

Out of curiosity, I did a little research and found that laughter is indeed the best medicine:

• Laughter relaxes the whole body.  A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
• Laughter boosts the immune system.  Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
• Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
• Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Inoculate Yourself

We are told that laughter is the best medicine, and that laughter is contagious.  If both statements are true, then ironically laughter is both the medicine and the disease.  Fortunately, we can find ways to get a dose of this medicine by exposing ourselves to it. Click on the link and take a few minutes to watch a short video clip.  Judge for yourself how contagious laughter can be:

Laughter Chain

What Matters in the End

We do live in stressful times and work in a stressful profession.  We feel the urgency of being at the top of our game daily because we impact the lives of our students each and every day.  My hope for you this week is that whether it is inside or outside the halls of HSHS, you find times to laugh.

Kris Kristofferson, the singer, actor, and Rhodes Scholar, made this musical argument: “Tell the truth.  Sing with passion.  Work with laughter.  Love with heart.  ‘Cause that’s all that matters in the end.”  

Have a great week, Southeastern.  May it be filled with laughter.

Phil

Kudos this week to the HSE21 Professional Development Committee.  Thanks for your thoughtfulness and hard work that made last week’s release time successful and meaningful.

A few more thoughts on laughter:

• “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”  --Mark Twain
• “Laughter is not a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.”  --Oscar Wilde
• “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion.  I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” --Kurt Vonnegut
• “From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter.  Someday I intend to read it.”  --Groucho Marx
• “Laughter gives us distance.  It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it, and then move on.”  --Bob Newhart
• “Laughter is the best medicine—unless you’re a diabetic, then insulin comes pretty high on the list.”  --Jasper Carrott
• “Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”  --Karl Barth

One more, just for fun… 

This is the sign that was awaiting our Spell Bowl team last week as the bus pulled up to one of our neighboring schools.  The irony was not lost on our students!