Use humor and play to deal with challenges

Humor, laughter, and play are natural antidotes to life’s difficulties. They lighten your burdens and help you keep things in perspective. A good hearty laugh reduces stress, elevates mood, and brings your nervous system back into balance.
Playful communication broadens your emotional intelligence and helps you:

 

• Take hardships in stride. By allowing you to view your frustrations and disappointments from new perspectives, laughter and play enable you to survive annoyances, hard times, and setbacks.
• Smooth over differences. Using gentle humor often helps you say things that might be otherwise difficult to express without creating a flap.
• Simultaneously relax and energize yourself. Playful communication relieves fatigue and relaxes your body, which allows you to recharge and accomplish more.
• Become more creative. When you loosen up, you free yourself of rigid ways of thinking and being, allowing you to get creative and see things in new ways.

How to develop playful communication:

It’s never too late to develop and embrace your playful, humorous side.

• Try setting aside regular, quality playtime. The more you joke, play, and laugh—the easier it becomes.
• Find enjoyable activities that loosen you up and help you embrace your playful nature.
• Practice by playing with animals, babies, young children, and outgoing people who appreciate