Hey Babe, How's Your Laugh Life?

Pssst…how’s your laugh life? Are you getting enough? It’s a personal question, but since no one is watching, come on, why not answer honestly?

Imagine you are standing up, and a line extends out in front of you. The line is about the length of a bowling alley, but at the end of the line, there are not ten pins but a flagpole sporting a bright blue flag fluttering gently in the wind at head height.

This line is your life’s laugh line, and you will use it to get an idea of how much laughter you currently experience in your life. When I give my Stress Less Laugh More workshop, I often have people physically walk along that line, but you can do it now in your imagination.

In a moment, you will mentally walk out and position yourself at some point along your line that represents how much laughter, humour, fun, and play you feel you are currently experiencing in your life.

Of course, each day of our lives has a different level of laughter, but you are going to position yourself at a point that you feel represents your average daily amount.

So, for example, if you were to position yourself right next to the flag, you are saying that your life is jam-packed with laughter, and you couldn’t imagine possibly fitting more in. Your laugh life is perfect.

If your feet don’t even move, that means you have zero laughter in your life at the moment. Halfway down the line, you get a moderate dose of daily laughter. You get the idea, but remember, you can stand anywhere on the line that seems about right.

Okay, ready to walk your laughter line? Be truthful with yourself, but don’t be judgmental. It’s not a competition, and wherever you are on that line just happens to be where you are right now. What we are after here is helpful self-knowledge, so why not humour me and do this little mental exercise!

So, here goes. Gently close your eyes, see the line with the blue flag at the end, and in your imagination, walk out to any position on the line that represents the current level of laughter, humour, fun, and play that you experience day to day. Do it now, and I’ll be right here when you finish the exercise.

Where did you end up on your line? Were you surprised? Pleased? Disappointed?

I first did this exercise for a seminar group 27 years ago, and since then, one thing has changed, and one has remained consistent.

The thing that has changed is that, although there is always a spread of positions on the line, over the years, a larger number of people have begun to clump below the halfway mark. Are we laughing less these days? Yes, seems to be the answer.

The thing that has remained consistent over 27 years is that when I ask people to position themselves where they would like to be on the line, nearly everyone moves further towards the blue flag. Most people want more laughter in their lives. And the very good news is that this is definitely achievable.

My entire adult life has been about helping people move further down that line towards more laughter, humour, play, and fun. I’ve done this as a comedian, a clown doctor, a humour therapist, a speaker, workshop leader, comedy teacher, and writer.

I’m passionate about this mission because I believe that the further society moves down that line, the happier we all become and the happier our world becomes.

I’m here to help you create a laugh life that sizzles! With so many current global challenges threatening to drag us into despair, we need an approach that will uplift and elevate us.

I agree with Kurt Vonnegut: “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.”

Many laughs to come.

Love on ya, Anthony

Anthony Ackroyd

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Learn more about my Stress Less Laugh More workshop