Why Laugh Out Loud (LOL)?
Admit it. We all LOL, even though we hate the term. When we find ourselves actually laughing out loud it feels good. Laughter produces an immediate major positive impact on our entire well being. And the effect lasts.
Popularized in 1989, “LOL” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. Does this mean it’s acceptable in Scrabble or Bananagrams? In my family that’s still a major debate (LOL). What is clear however, is that in times of stress, emotional duress and uncertainty, laughter really is the best medicine.
Benefits of Laughing
Why Memes?
Axioms, like memes, touch on truths. Therefore, we tend to overlook their importance. Memes do it in very tiny space. Memes get right to the heart of the matter. Today with more pop culture references than ever before it is crucial to understand the what people are actually saying. This article in Forbes is a great quick read on Why-understanding-memes-and-internet-humor-is-important-to-grasping-what-people-are-really-saying-in-2020.
Humor as Character Strength
The ultimate understanding of any problem is turning it into comedy, therefore beging able to laugh about it. Recently, more studies and articles have surfaced espousing the impact of laughter. In this article – Humor as a character strength is revealed.
…only in recent decades has experimental psychology respected it as an essential, fundamental human behavior
Janet M. Gibson
Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Grinnell College
Humor in the Workplace
Above all laughter keeps it interesting. I have been on the human bandwagon for sometime now. You can read this blog on humor in the workplace and my interview on I am CEO Podcast.
What’s Next:
Times are serious. Find something to laugh about. A real deep belly laugh. Gain perspective and resiliency. You will be more human.