Rock Solid Radio - Laughter is the Best Medicine - Episode 225

When was the last time you had a good belly laugh?  Often times when someone has experienced such a laugh,  you will hear them say, "that felt really good!"  We have known for years that laughter is a great medicine, but why don't we use it more than we do?  Being more intentional about adding laughter and a variety of other ideas, can help you change your darker days and add more light to your darkness.  Exercise, laughter, rest, praying, and meditating, are just a few ways to help.  Check out more as Linda and Merrill discuss how you can be the driver of your moods and no longer find yourself getting stuck.  Here are our 7 keys to helping you to take control of your darker moments and intentionally bring more light to them. 1. Acknowledge your current mental and physical conditionSometimes life makes you acknowledge your situation as you feel like you ran straight into a brick wall, but wouldn’t it be nice to not have to hit the wall? Honesty is the only way to properly access your situation.  Get rid of biases. 2. Own it - What are you doing to put yourself into this conditionLooking at the good and the bad and stating what you did to put yourself in this situation.  Yes, there may be others involved, but you are the gatekeeper of your life.  Who or what did you let in?  No Blames No Victims3. What are you willing to change today?Today is the key!  Not tomorrow or next week, but today.  In most cases, starting smaller is best.  “Starting today I will not tune in to social media”.  “I will go out for a walk.  “I will seek laughter in my situation”4. Replace is better than Remove.Often times we tell people to quit doing something, but when we have developed a habit, it is the habit that makes us feel complete.  It is just what we do.  Removing it only makes us feel empty.  So once you identify what you want to remove, think of what you will replace it with.  “Instead of smoking I will chew gum.”  “Instead of playing video games, I will go out and shoot hoops.”5. Monitor Progress Tracking progress is critical to keeping your mind focused on changing the habit.  Whether it’s hoping on the scale, rating your mood, or counting your behaviors, tracking can act as a positive reward system or a hard check on a fail.  Either way, it is good to get the feedback. 6. Make adaptations - 7. Making adjustments in order to continue to improve is common sense.  If what you are doing isn’t working, back up, make the adjustments and come back at again.  Make a decision NOT to tie your joy and happiness to your circumstances. It’s an internal decision to find laughter and joy in even the hardest times. http://rocksolidfamilies.orgSupport the show#Rocksolidfamilies, #familytherapy,  #marriagecounseling,  #parenting,  #faithbasedcounseling, #counseling, #Strongdads, #coaching, #lifecoach, #lifecoaching, #marriagecoaching, #marriageandfamily, #control, #security, #respect, #affection, #love, #purpose, #faith, #affairs, #infidelity