Chapter 13
Don't Worry...Just Smile
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Today's Empowering Quote
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"Good humor is tonic for the mind and
body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It
is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It
lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and
contentment."
--Grenville Kleiser
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Today's Empowering Question
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"What tense situation can I look back
on and laugh about?"
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Today's Fast Session
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In continuing our previous discussion
on humor, how it can help us, and what the lack of it can do,
today's question is a terrific clue about the value of humor.
In asking it of yourself, you HAVE to
get an answer. You'll find an answer in a memory of something
that really got your furnace hot. When you think about it now,
it not only doesn't get you mad but it probably seems funny or at
least neutral.
We often let our emotions control us,
thinking the worst without pausing first...
The act of worrying, for example, is a
major illness today as, of course, it has probably been since the
dawn of mankind. I say illness not to give you one more excuse
for not taking ownership of your own actions, but to highlight the
misery it can cause.
Boy do people love to worry, huh?
We get all worked up about things that
haven't happened yet, but "probably will" ...and rarely ever do.
Let me make a point here.
Being PREPARED for the worst is not
worrying. That's productive. Heading off problems is valuable.
Worrying is thinking about a negative outcome and not letting it go.
Losing sleep over it. Not having any humor about it or about
anything else until what you're fretting about has passed.
In sports, who usually wins - the team
that's loose and care-free or the team that's tight and worried
about making mistakes?
It's been estimated that ninety nine
percent of all the things that most of us worry about never actually
occur. And in those rare times that what we're worrying about
does happen, we say, "See, I knew it!" Most of us live
"problem centered" lives and defend it as being realistic.
People with a developed sense of humor
rarely worry about things that they don't have control over.
It's insane to bother yourself over things you can't affect, isn't
it?
Come on now, be honest!
Also, don't you envy those people who
can crack just the right joke at just the right moment? Those
who can break the tension with the right words ...almost on cue?
I don't mean tasteless jokes. I'm talking about good, clean,
witty humor.
Don't they make us feel good just
being around them?
State enhancers is what they are...
Having a great sense of humor makes
you popular. It keeps your blood pressure lower. It helps you
sell better. It can help you worry less and do better work
every minute of every day. It has also proven to be able to
heal the sick...Even when the sick have cancer and other serious
diseases.
The world is small. We've all heard
those stories by now, haven't we?
Let's develop our own humor muscles...
today. Right now.
On a piece of paper, write a big W
(For "Worry") in the middle. Use up the whole sheet. And in
the place where you work or where you spend a lot of time, tape this
sheet on the wall.
That's your trigger...
When you're in the middle of a big fat
worry - no matter how seemingly unimportant it might be - look at
your W and ask yourself, "What can I find to laugh at in this
situation?" or, "What is funny about this?" or, "How can I
look at this and stay optimistic and light?"
That's the great thing about
questions. They're free. You can ask yourself any
question you want. No tolls. Just ask the right ones and
you'll be miles ahead and on the right road.
And guess what? You'll feel better. And if you put that
W on your wall and make this questioning a daily habit, it will
become automatic, and you'll get all those benefits I just listed
and lots more.
Dozens and dozens more.
If you think that putting a big W on
your wall is juvenile, what is worrying and fretting over things
that usually never happen?
Point made? Good.
Black markers make nice W's, don't you
think?
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Today's Winning Beliefs
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-- I have a great sense of humor
-- I look for and find the humor in all situations
-- I release all tension and worry from my mind and body
-- Tension and worry has left me now
-- My sense of humor puts others at ease
ThinkRightNow.com
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