Train Like A Kid
Step 4: Laugh more
By Douglas Pieterse, Co-Founder & Head Personal Trainer
"It may be simple but not always easy"
It’s easy to get caught up in everyday stress and take life a little too seriously when you’re an adult. We spend our time working our lives away towards some definition of success and pushing the things we enjoy to the side. Sometimes you find yourself throwing money at materialistic things to find some fulfilment and relief from the stress you have built up. But sometimes, the stress has such a strong grip on you, there no realistic solution to the problem. So, I thought it would be best to look at our mini human companies to figure out how they would deal with the trials and tribulations they face every day.
I’m sure you’re wondering, what do kids have to do with the work and social stresses of an adult? Surely the only thing they are concerned about is the bogeyman that hides under their bed. Children still have a fair amount of pressure to deal with. Imagine you’re on a foreign planet trying to learn the cultural and socially accepted behaviour, while having your wild imagination oppressed by these so-called norms. At the same time, you’re learning to deal with your own peers and figuring out how to play together. It can all be a bit overwhelming for children, so how do they handle it?
I’m sure you’re wondering, what do kids have to do with the work and social stresses of an adult? Surely the only thing they are concerned about is the bogeyman that hides under their bed. Children still have a fair amount of pressure to deal with. Imagine you’re on a foreign planet trying to learn the cultural and socially accepted behaviour, while having your wild imagination oppressed by these so-called norms. At the same time, you’re learning to deal with your own peers and figuring out how to play together. It can all be a bit overwhelming for children, so how do they handle it?
It’s easy to get caught up in everyday stress and take life a little too seriously when you’re an adult.
We spend our time working our lives away towards some definition of success and pushing the things we enjoy to the side. Sometimes you find yourself throwing money at materialistic things to find some fulfilment and relief from the stress you have built up. But sometimes, the stress has such a strong grip on you, there no realistic solution to the problem. So, I thought it would be best to look at our mini human companies to figure out how they would deal with the trials and tribulations they face every day.
I’m sure you’re wondering, what do kids have to do with the work and social stresses of an adult? Surely the only thing they are concerned about is the bogeyman that hides under their bed. Children still have a fair amount of pressure to deal with. Imagine you’re on a foreign planet trying to learn the cultural and socially accepted behaviour, while having your wild imagination oppressed by these so-called norms. At the same time, you’re learning to deal with your own peers and figuring out how to play together. It can all be a bit overwhelming for children, so how do they handle it?
I’m sure you’re wondering, what do kids have to do with the work and social stresses of an adult? Surely the only thing they are concerned about is the bogeyman that hides under their bed. Children still have a fair amount of pressure to deal with. Imagine you’re on a foreign planet trying to learn the cultural and socially accepted behaviour, while having your wild imagination oppressed by these so-called norms. At the same time, you’re learning to deal with your own peers and figuring out how to play together. It can all be a bit overwhelming for children, so how do they handle it?
Spend time with children
When you think of being at the park on a sunny Saturday morning or at your little boys’ birthday party, the first image that comes to mind is usually a group of kids laughing, running around and having fun. Kids inherently know how to have a good time, it’s natural and instinctive for them. Laughing has a lot more benefits than just providing you with a good sense of humor. Studies have shown that laughing can provide the body with short and long-term benefits. You have an improved immune system, better pain relief and even anxiety gets a good beat from laughter. This not-so-secret weapon is available to everyone, regardless of race, social or mental status. It doesn’t take much to find something that makes us laugh and we should not oppress it!
Spend time with children
When you think of being at the park on a sunny Saturday morning or at your little boys’ birthday party, the first image that comes to mind is usually a group of kids laughing, running around and having fun. Kids inherently know how to have a good time, it’s natural and instinctive for them. Laughing has a lot more benefits than just providing you with a good sense of humor. Studies have shown that laughing can provide the body with short and long-term benefits. You have an improved immune system, better pain relief and even anxiety gets a good beat from laughter. This not-so-secret weapon is available to everyone, regardless of race, social or mental status. It doesn’t take much to find something that makes us laugh and we should not oppress it!
Try it before you buy it
Start your morning off with something that makes you laugh, even if it means watching a funny YouTube video or telling your best dad joke to a 5-year-old. After getting a good laugh in for yourself and maybe others, note how you feel and what kind of decisions you make onwards. You may find your confidence perks up, leading to better relationships with the people around you and inadvertently draw success to you. Gives a new meaning to the quote, “laughing your way to the bank”!
Gotta know when to hold em’
Laughing when your best friend tells about their misfortune could potentially leave with you fewer friends. Make sure you adjust your laughter and have appropriate timing. A slight giggle can lighten the mood when someone falls and help them get past the pain and embarrassment. It’s probably best you don’t laugh when your best friend shares with you that their wife ran off with their best friend. It can be funny for you to laugh at another person’s misfortune, but it only presents you as narcissistic. Not a problem if that happens to be your thing, but you may end up with a group of friends that only share their disdain for you and sit around waiting to catch you and your failures, so they can have a good laugh too.
No one makes it out alive
In this over-engineered complicated ball of dirt, gas and water, we should realize that our sole purpose should be to enjoy the very finite, insignificant glimmer of life we get. Take yourself back to a time where your understanding had not quite peaked yet. When you should have been bogged down with learning how everything worked but were still able to feel joyful and free. You always had a good time with plenty of laughter.
Last laugh
Being miserable and rich is not going to feel as good or exhilarating as the movies portray it to be, and there are many successful people who have come to realize the benefits of being present and taking the time to laugh more. Find what makes you feel the most joy and be sure to have ample doses of that. People will gravitate towards you because of the happiness and joy you exude, with the hopes of it rubbing off on them too. Who knows? Maybe this is all the success and fulfilment you need in your life.
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