Last Thursday, I did my 5th speech for Toastmasters.
This being the half way point, I needed this to be good.
CC5 focuses on 'Your Body Speaks' and I needed to move around a little bit and add more gestures. The title came to me because of the jokes section of Reader's Digest. Here goes:
Are you feeling low? Are you feeling down? Do you need a
pick me up?
I have the perfect remedy for you!
Toastmasters and honored guests, good afternoon.
This is not an ad for a drug or a crisis helpline! What I am
trying to sell to you, is an all-natural, free and always available cure for
everything that could go wrong in your day: LAUGHTER!
How do you feel when you laugh? Doesn’t laughter make you
feel better if you are having a bad day? Did you know that in addition to the
instant vacation you get, laughter may make you feel better physically? Research
has shown that laughter makes the brain release endorphins that can relieve
some physical pain. So in theory, whether you have a headache or a heartache,
laughter might help you through it. How could you use more of this miracle cure
in every day life? Let me give you a couple of things you could do!
First, be ready to laugh at yourself. Have you ever watched
kids finding endless amusement in the silliest of little things? The latest
video to become viral is the video of 2 toddlers each playing with an elastic
band on doorknobs and laughing hysterically. Who would have thought? Elastic
bands! Kids usually go into hysterics when they do something silly and then
laugh at themselves. Somewhere along the way, adults lose touch with their
inner child and their ability to be silly. We take ourselves too seriously and
do not laugh at ourselves readily. People
wonder whether I am on drugs or have gone coo coo when I’m being silly or insanely
happy laughing at myself. Don’t mind me, I’m just having a mini-break from the
daily grind!
My second suggestion is to tap into your memory bank of
funny anecdotes. Imagine this, 2 of my girlfriends and I got lost driving in
the States once. As I was trying to figure out where to go, the car started
making a weird flapping noise. One friend got busy looking up directions so we
decided to stop by the side of the road to investigate the noise. As I slowed
down, I asked my friend in the back seat to find the origin of the noise.
‘Huh?’ she said, ‘let me close the window…I cannot hear you girls over that
noise’. With the window closed, all was quiet!!! The wind coming through the
open back window was making all this din. That is probably not the funniest story you
have heard, but to the 3 of us, recalling that moment of panic because we might
possibly be lost with a broken car across the border and the realization that
the noise was just the wind, always bring us to tears laughing. Sometimes I am
smiling while walking down the street because I’m recalling a funny moment.
Sometimes I am laughing by myself because I am replaying a hilarious
conversation in my head. I sure look
like a crazy person doing so, but I think every person should have a fountain
of funny moments to go to for an instant pick-me-up moment!
I once read that 3
minutes of laughter a day could help to keep you healthy. I’m fairly sure I
laugh for more than 3 mins a day. Do I ever get sick? Of course! But even in sickness,
if you can either be silly and laugh at yourself, or if you can tap into some
cheerful memories, you will definitely be in a better mood. Something that no
other remedy can give you instantly. So, be ready to laugh and build up your
arsenal of laughable moments. Laughter is the best medicine and you too may use
it on a daily basis! The recommended dose: a minimum 3 minutes a day!
