At the end of 2019, I made a goal for myself to try and live a more happier life. The two previous years were hard on me; my life was dramatically changing and I was dealing with toxic people on the daily, so when the Fall/Winter of 2019 rolled around and my psyche started to improve, I decided that I wasn’t going to let life’s hardships and shortcomings hold me back. So, I made a goal for myself: I was going to try and laugh at least once every single day. Here’s why I think you should try to as well.
When we all think of laughter, we probably think of the typical “ha-ha’s” and chuckles we hear on the background laugh-tracks of sitcoms, like Friends or How I Met Your Mother, but laughter is a lot more complex than that. Laughing kick-starts your brain. It induces the release of a hormone called endorphins that when released, stimulates the pleasure and happiness centers of the brain and body. So when you laugh, you’re actually creating healthy benefits for your body (and you even burn some calories too!)
Laughing everyday can be difficult, especially in the midst of a global pandemic, but you probably don’t even realize the impact even just a small chuckle will have on you. Laughter is considered a mood-booster. Every time you do it, your body releases those endorphins and you get a little bit happier and your mood can improve. It might not be a dramatic change in your demeanor, but it’s enough to get you smiling and take your mind off of anything else that might be bothering you.
When I decided that I was going to try and laugh at least once every single day, I figured it was going to be easy, and for the most part, it was (at the beginning at least). From the beginning of 2020, until around when the pandemic hit North America in March, I was finding things to laugh at every single day. Whether it had been from watching a funny TV show or movie, or doing something stupid with my family and friends, I always found something to laugh about. But when the pandemic reached the U.S. and Canada, it suddenly got a whole lot harder to laugh every single day because of the state of the world. Everyone was depressed and lonely which made it harder to find things to laugh about, but the one thing that has gotten me through it all way my family and friends.
Surrounding yourself with the people that make you laugh the hardest and know just how to make you laugh — even in life’s most difficult moments — is key when trying to laugh more. The people who make you laugh until you cry or feel like you did 1,000 crunches are the people you need in life. these people are your people; they are the ones who truly understand you. I laugh almost every single day now. I’m still working on the everyday part, but by laughing at least a little bit, all the unimportant stuff doesn’t seem to matter as much. I have always loved to laugh and I can honestly say now that laughter has changed my life for the better; and I think that if you try, laughter can positively impact your life too.