LAUGHING WITH YOURSELF

(STOP TAKING YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY!)

EPISODE #153

In this week’s episode we’re chatting about:

• How laughter was a significant factor in helping me overcome my eating disorder and imprisoned thinking / insecurity / perfectionism.
• Four ways you can stop taking yourself so seriously so that you can engage more in the sweetness of laughter in your life
• The distinction between laughing at yourself versus laughing with yourself.

Just a quick hello to all of my Keep the Faith listeners out there – thanks for being part of the community of contagious encouragement.

SPONSORSHIP NOTE:

This podcast is proudly brought to you by the company I am proud to partner with – and the company whose products I now exclusively use for my family and me: Beautycounter. Be in the know about better and safer beauty – be part of the beauty of Beautycounter. You can check out our product line at www.beautycounter.com/trishblackwell   If you haven’t yet watched the documentary The Human Experiment (which is available on Netflix), I urge you, for your health and the health of your family, watch it! It’s beautifully done and incredibly empowering.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:

My newest book, Insecurity Detox: A Breakout Plan to Rejuvenate Your Mind, Body and Spirit is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Go to www.insecuritydetox.com to order! Also, for anyone who pre-orders the book, (which you should do right now, today!), I’m giving away a $100-valued audio coaching session download, Confidence Power Hour, which is jam-packed with five stages of self-reflection questions and probing challenges to help you take your confidence to the next level! To receive the Confidence Power Hour, just email me your proof of pre-order purchase and I’ll send you your gift right away!

Also, to go with my book, I’ve created a FREE 5-Day Detox Devotional to prepare your heart and soul to get the most out of Insecurity Detox once it arrives. Over a period of five days, you will receive five-minute devotional and prayer-centered posts right to your inbox to inspire joy, infuse you with confidence and deepen your understanding of the truth of just how deeply God loves you. Get your free copy of the Detox Devotional by visiting www.trishblackwell.com/devotional

HOW LAUGHTER SAVED ME:

Graduated from Davidson College with honors in 2005 and found myself living in France from 2005-2006. There, in addition to my life-changing breakthrough and revelation I had at that café table (about confidence, body image, hope, etc….if you don’t know the story, you should read my book, The Skinny, Sexy Mind), I met two amazing girls, one from Montana and one from London, Angi and Caroline, who freed my spirit even further with the gift of laughter.

Before then, laughter had always been a part of my life, but it hadn’t been a priority. I was too busy being serious about school, swimming or whatever pursuit of achievement currently on my to-do list.

After that point, I realized that laughter is the honey to happiness.

4 WAYS TO STOP TAKING YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY:

1.Realize that everyone is crazy in their own way, so instead of hiding your weirdness by being too serious, embrace it and let it loose!

2. Serious is unsocial and disconnected. People don’t like you because of your accomplishments, because of how focused you are, or because of what you look like, people like you for you. Seriousness and thinking too much of ourselves and what we do to be impressive removes us from having an ability to really connect authentically with others.

3. You don’t have control over everything in life, so it’s time to stop pretending that you do. This will allow you to remove yourself from obsessive worrying or the what-if anxiety that comes with mindsets that take life, and take themselves too seriously.

4. Focus on little moments and the fullness of experiences – let your mind wrestle to find adjectives to describe deep feelings and give yourself more pause in your life.

QUOTES ON LAUGHTER:

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”

― Audrey Hepburn

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

― Charles Dickens

“If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.”

― Robert Frost

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”

― Maya Angelou

“Life is worth living as long as there’s a laugh in it.”

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

LAUGHING WITH YOURSELF VS. LAUGHING AT YOURSELF

First, you need laughter. And then, secondly, you need to understand that there’s a difference between laughing at yourself and laughing with yourself.

When we laugh at ourselves, we typically have a deeper heart of discontent and / or frustration, wishing the circumstances or we weren’t actually the way we are; whereas, laughing with yourself is birthed out of a state of full acceptance and celebration of circumstances.

Examples:

Situation: I show up at the gym after a morning of everything-going-wrong, thirty minutes late and with baby food stains on my workout pants. After a refreshing workout, I finally make it to the shower – for which I’ve allotted myself 3 minutes before I have to pick up Ellie – only to find myself drenched and without a towel or clean underwear to put on.

Choice #1: To laugh at myself.

I can choose to laugh at myself and shake off the frustration of a day of “mommy-fails”, and underneath it all I am actually deeply frustrated that there is not more time in the day, that I didn’t have the foresight to be on time or pack properly and at my exhaustion over some of the small details that go into being a mom-on-the-go.

Choice #2: To laugh with myself.

I can choose to laugh with myself, relishing the ridiculousness of trying to dry myself with a lump of paper towels I can snag from the bathroom sinks and chit-chatting with sympathizing mothers also getting dressed in the locker room near me. I can look at my food-covered yoga pants with pride that no matter where I go, the world will know how much I love my little, messy baby girl. I can laugh at how little time I have – and how poorly I manage it without margin sometimes – and be grateful that I have a life so full that time is a challenge.

In what ways are you laughing at yourself in life and how can you shift that laughter to something more positively empowering…of laughing with yourself and of maximizing the power of laughter?

LAUGHTER IS HONEY TO HAPPINESS.

LISTENER OF THE EPISODE:

Hey Trish!

I finally got the chance to sit down and pre-order your book! I also wanted to tell you how much of an inspiration you are to me. I am divorced and have a 4 year old boy who lights up my world! You give me motivation and encouragement to keep going, stay in shape both physically and mentally so I can be the best mommy for him! P.s. one day you started following me on pinterest and every mentor of mine got phone calls! I was so excited.

I hope you and the family are doing amazing,

Katlyn McMillan