There is little success where there is little laughter.
-Andrew Carnegie
It has been said that laughter is the best medicine in life, but it’s more than that; I believe that laughter gives birth to success. Laughter communicates in a way that verbal communication cannot. Laughter surpasses words and is more than just medicine for the soul – laughter connects us to the deepest and most authentic part of ourselves – to our true joy. Furthermore, the more authentically and unapologetically ourselves we are (often achieved through the act of laughter and letting ourselves laugh at ourselves), the more apt we are to follow our dreams with confidence, thereby leading us to meadows of success.
The benefit of being a first time mom is the hyperawareness I have been given as I watch my little baby bloom into new stages of development with each week that passes. Ellie is now sixteen weeks old, and one of the most powerful lessons she has recently taught me is on the true value of laughter.
Ellie can’t talk, but she can laugh. She doesn’t yet understand language, but laughter communicates to her immediately. And while I love the contagious and captivating baby belly giggles that she emits, I love even more the lessons on laughter I have learned by watching her. Before even being capable of linguistically processing thoughts or emotions, and before she has even any semblance of understanding about the world around her, Ellie laughs. She knows that life is worth laughing about. She knows the power of a laugh. She knows that laughing feels good. And so she laughs.
The world needs more laughter. Laughter is more than medicine to us, it is our medicine to the world. And, as we have learned from Ellie’s example, we knew how to laugh before we even knew how to talk. Take some time today to think with less words and instead to think with your heart. Let laughter be the communication of your heart and of the joy you have stored within you as you experience the small, day-to-day, laughable things of life.
Be more successful and be more of who you are…..laugh more.