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Research in psychoneuroimmunology (the study of the interaction of behavioral, neural, and endocrine factors and the functioning of the immune system) reveals that stress and the resultant way we think can have positive or negative effects on our immune system. Laughter results in breaking the stress cycle, positive effects on the immune system, and helps in the development and maintenance of a positive attitude. There are many stressors currently facing employees during this time of depressed economy. Relieving stress is a key to keeping employee performance and productivity at a premium!

Recent research is showing that most diseases are stress related. Absenteeism, insurance premiums, accidents (on and off the job), interpersonal conflicts and violence are connected to physical and mental diseases and are affecting the bottom line. Businesses that support and encourage appropriate positive humor in the workplace are finding that it can actually be good for business.

Positive humor is fostered by a positive attitude, positive creativity and constructive actions. All of these are keys for dealing with new business challenges, as well as the associated change and stress. With supportive research, I assert that

People who are humorous are more playful

People who are more playful are more creative

People who are more creative find more solutions

People who find more solutions can better deal with everyday challenges, change, and the associated stress.

Tips for Using Positive Humor in the Workplace

By all means tell jokes and humorous stories. However, recognize that they are about 5% of all possible techniques to evoke mirth and subsequent laughter. I encourage you to be creative with the many other ways to be humorous.

Listen to great joke tellers, learn their jokes and pass them on as you see fit. More importantly, put on your creativity hat to improve such jokes and to make up your own jokes. Many great jokes come from real life situations and the creative license of the person telling them.

Tell humorous stories. Tell these one-on-one, in small co-worker groups, or during a presentation just for fun or to introduce a concept or principle. The greatest reservoir for humor is your life, especially your childhood. Take the time to sit down, close your eyes, and reflect on fun things in your life from early childhood, through elementary school, middle school, high school, secondary and post-graduate education. Then, go through all your jobs, military service, church events and activities, community events. Think about fun things you and your friends did. Now, write them down by title or outline. By taking things from your life, you will connect with your audience as do the best humorists.

Emphasize the importance of “positive” humor. Most comedians are into “negative” humor, i.e., putting down people. Most jokes, but not all, are put-downs and that’s why some people avoid telling them. Some of us tend to use put-downs with our friends to show that we care about one another, to laugh at ourselves and to bond. I’m okay with that. Some of us use put-downs to intentionally hurt others. I’m not okay with this.

If there is no malice in your heart, there will be no malice in your jokes or your creativity.

By using creativity, one can change a socially unacceptable joke to one that is appreciated, remembered and used by others. Changing offensive words and using self-deprecation to change are the keys. Making up funny sounding nonsense words to substitute for offensive words is a fun challenge. Once you learn how, you get better and better.

Making fun of yourself is an age-old humor strategy that works extremely well! People love other people who can laugh at themselves rather than trying to hurt someone else. A little sarcasm is okay. However, if it is the only meal you serve, people will stop coming to your table! Positive humor and positive attitude go hand in hand. Here’s some advice: Keep employees with negative humor, negative attitudes and foul mouths away from the frontline or else you will lose customers!

Have a training session on “positive” humor in the workplace. Identify “positive” and negative” humor. Talk about the application of positive humor and positive attitude to customer service. Distinguish the difference between taking risks to be humorous and “rampant silliness” that will turn off customers (internal and external). Emphasize that we all have different senses of humor and that you will never be able to please everyone. However, it is important to be assertive and set boundaries with people who insist on telling certain kinds of jokes that are offensive (sexual harassment, racism, and the over- the- top derogatory words and phrases). Encourage constructive feedback from co-workers so employees who use offensive language will understand. Discuss the appropriate times and places for the humorous activities suggested in this article because they differ from organization to organization.

Use ice breaker and energizer games for group settings. Make them invitational (some people just don’t want to participate). One of my favorite ice breakers involves getting people to share humorous stories about themselves with one another. For a quick and fun energizer with a group, I lead aerobic patting. Starting with my hands, arms, head and neck, then down to the front of my thighs, my shins, my calves, the back of my thighs, ending at my “booty.” In both of these cases, people are laughing and no one has told a joke. Like I always say, you don’t have to tell a joke to get people to laugh. There are books written on ice breakers and energizers, so all you need to do is a little research, as well as use your creativity. Make up your own with items like balloons, balls, marbles, rubber chickens, stuffed animals, candy bars, fruit, marshmallows, etc., etc.

On breaks or during celebrations, play nonsense, cooperative and low competition games for fun. Emphasize that it doesn’t matter who wins the game; it’s for fun! The more mistakes that are made, the more fun it is. These games are true tests of whether or not people are able to lighten up! Play nonsense, cooperative and low competition games for fun. Emphasize that it doesn’t matter who wins the game; it’s for fun! The more mistakes that are made, the more fun it is. These games are true tests of whether or not people are able to lighten up! A great nonsense game I love to play alone, as well as with others, is Bop-It. It’s a game that can be played on short or long work breaks. Caution: It’s addictive! You can purchase various sizes of Bop-It at your local toy store.

Use fun props. Having a prop box in the workplace is a good idea. Funny glasses are always great props. You have a choice of Grouch/Beagle Puss glasses, huge sunglasses, thick bottle glasses, zany shaped and colored glasses, and glasses with funny shaped eyes. Turn your back to a person or group, slip on the glasses, turn around and make a funny comment. You’ll get a laugh or a groan (a groaner is better than nothing) every time. I like to use props to communicate an important observation about co-workers behaviors. For example, if one of your co-workers who you consider is a friend is acting like a jerk, walk over to that person’s desk while they are there and sit a stuffed Eyore (the donkey in Winnie the Pooh books) in an auspicious place. Say nothing, just give the person a big smile and walk away. Since stuffed Eyores come in different sizes, having at least two will give you an opportunity to show whether you thing the person is being a big or a little jerk. Other things like a huge aspirin you can get at a magic/clown stores can tell someone that they are being a pain. A heart balloon can tell someone that they have touched your heart with their act of kindness. Smile always helps to keep the messages in a fun context.

Noisemakers and humorous musical instruments really get attention. I love the sliding flutes, train whistles, zinger whistles, kazoos and nose flutes. People can’t stop laughing when I play a “nose” flute for them. Even better is when I try to teach them to play. It has something to do with images, I think! When I give new nose flutes out to attendees in my programs, someone always ask if they have been recycled. It always gets a laugh.

Practical jokes can be a lot of fun! There are practical jokes you can buy, e.g., the “whoopee” cushion, the hand buzzer, exploding golf balls, etc., but the best ones are those you think up on your own spontaneously. Be carefulhave fun but avoid scaring people into heart attacks. And remember, what goes around, comes around. Be willing to accept what comes back to you and laugh about it.

Use string figures and balloon sculptures are great props to help you teach points in a fun way, to help a coworker get out of the dumps (make their favorite balloon animal), and to decorate in fun ways for celebrations. Both are easy to learn. You can find books on string figures at bookstores. Appropriate balloons, balloon pumps and books on balloon sculpting can be found in magic stores and toy stores.

Celebrate successes and achievements (small and big) and recognize coworkers with fun gifts and cards, as well as personalized gifts. Recognition is something everyone wants. Whether it’s job success, personal achievement, birthday, holiday, other special occasions, or “just because I’m thinking of you,” we all like the special attention given to us. Whether it’s giving humorous cards, gag gifts, crazy candy, goofy flowers, funny skits or birthday roasts, coworkers will appreciate one another and enjoy their jobs better when they are celebrated and recognized. Important Note: It’s okay to buy things for people, but making something for them will be appreciated more and be more memorable. Why? We show our love/how much we care when we take time to personalize gifts.

Create a “Fun” Bulletin Board. This is a place for sharing cartoons, email jokes, poems, short stories, photographs, quotes, humorous newsletters, etc. It’s a good place to post notices of local fun activities, such as performances by humorists, plays, festivals, concerts, and other activities that will help employees have joy in their lives.

Share humorous audio tapes and watch humorous videotapes. On work breaks, coworkers can share humorous audio tapes (purchased or self-recorded) or watch humorous videotapes. The old time radio bloopers are my favorite. Taping radio programs, like Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, etc., is a good way to store humor for a later time when a humor boost is needed. Remember the scout motto: Be Prepared!

Use humor in training. Let me say it loudlyTRAINING DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BOOOOOOORING!!! Lectures and reading off of PowerPoint slides is the best way to bore your audience. When employees are bored or fall asleep during training, they fail to get the messages. Research in adult training shows that individuals learn best when they are entertained, involved in experiential activities and get some laughs. Human Resources can use some humorous videotapes for training. John Cleese and other humorists have some great training videotapes available. Having in-house trainers, and other presenters in the organization, take train-the-trainer courses on “edu-tainment should help in their presentations. Additionally, hiring speakers and trainers, who are known for their “edu-tainment” abilities, for special presentations can be a good way to show staff appreciation.

Reading is usually thought of as an individual activity; however, reading humorous short stories or poems out loud to others is another possibility. After reading some humorous material, one can share it during work breaks, during training, before or after work. Sharing humorous reading resources might peak the interest of others enough for them to start reading similar things. Who knows when it will help someone who is always in a bad mood?

Sharing cartoons by clipping them out of the newspaper, photocopying (sometimes modifying) and posting on a bulletin board, or just giving them to someone personally, can help coworkers get a laugh. Cartoon books are great gifts, not only for others but also for yourself. I have given myself all the collections of “The Far Side, “Calvin and Hobbes,” “For Better or Worse” and “Herman.” With CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff), I get to read them again every year and laugh just as much as the first time.

With many people having e-mail now, sending and receiving humorous material is much easier. (Yes, yes, yes, let’s not overdo it! Eliminating it altogether prevents some much needed stress relief.) I keep a humor buddy list and exchange materials on a daily basis. When I get notes back from someone saying that a particular piece helped her or him to cope, I know it’s a good thing to do. Share humorous email newsletters. Maybe sending them to one’s home email address is more appropriate, depending upon an organization’s policy.

Learn new skills or renew old skills to share with coworkers in humorous ways. Here are some suggestions unmentioned heretofore: magic; buffoonery juggling; mouth sounds and cartoon animal voices (e.g., Mickey Mouse

One of the first questions a child asks is Where did I come from? This question provides an ideal opportunity to begin a family history story. Families possess incredible histories and each one is unique. You will know when your child is ready for you to teach history. History is a record of the past, its people and events and the central ideas and values that are a country’s foundation.

Every child becomes a part of history at birth, a character in the middle of a fantastically big story. Family documents and treasures, birth certificates, graduation diplomas, awards, commendations, cherished letters and cards, keepsakes, mementos, immunization records, early samples of your child’s writing and art are all historical sources that weave a story for your child.

Your child already has a rich history of significant events. From the day they are born children are part of history. Some are born on days that are anniversaries of world or country events, others share their birthdays with monumental historical events like man first landing on the moon. A child may also share a birth date with a relative or friend.

During the first year in Kindergarten children share stories about themselves, their family and their neighborhood. Each child’s special days are recognized. Teachers encourage family members to visit the classroom and share family history. When students go on a vacation, visit relatives, celebrate a special day they typically share their experiences with their classmates.

Throughout their school years children read and are read stories about how people live and lived in different parts of the world. The study of the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth helps children understand how the world in which they live has changed over time. Children are always fascinated by the small sailing ships that early explorers used to chart coastlines.

As children become independent readers they encounter things that are initially unfamiliar. A student’s curiosity about how people traveled in times past may initiate days of research and individual projects and culminate in an historical time line depicting the invention of various modes of transport in numerous countries. Another student may wonder how we got atlases and dictionaries. This question would involve historical research into early writing tools, the invention of the printing press and typewriter and computer.

Gradually the students gain knowledge about their place in history. They begin to develop an appreciation for how they are the same and different from others. They recognize that each country and people celebrate differently and have differing histories. World historical events, both past and present begin to influence their lives.

Parents can facilitate a thirst for historical information. They can model and guide their children’s experiences to include activities that have a historical bias. Dinner table discussions can include the current news and the importance of daily events.

National and international events inevitably become tomorrow’s history. Children can learn how these events shape their lives. They will realize as they grow older how these events also shape their thinking and their ways of solving significant problems. Remember - an informed citizenry makes a strong country.

If you have the skill for this type of school, an interior design school can be a rewarding option. For those that love the feeling of redesigning a space, getting an education in this type of project is important. You should always consider the benefits of getting an accredited licensing from the school. While you do not need this for redoing your own home, you will need to do so when you are considering making a career out of interior design.

What Happens In School

There is quite a bit to learn at interior design school. It is much more than just colors and fabric options. You will learn how to be successful in the business as well as how to develop your designer skills. You may need to learn how to hone your business skills. This will keep your business doing well for years to come. It helps you to learn how to listen to people and handle problems, too.

There is much more to learn in an interior design school as well. For example, with lighting, you need to learn the right location of that lighting to create the appropriate look in relation to where windows are located. You need to learn the basics of designing as well as creating a space that works well from morning until night. While the process seems very easy, there is much more to learn than most expect there to be.

With Your Education

After you have gone to interior design school, and received fabulous grades and a degree, you can now put it to good use. To do so, there are many things you can do. You may want to start your own business or you may plan to work with a team of professionals. It does take some time to develop the clientele to start your own business. More so, you can be very successful in this area after you have worked in the business for some time.

An interior design school teaches many things, including the need for design services. You do need to find the right location to run your business and then need to cater to your clients for private residences to schools and even to offices. As a designer, you will need to meet their demands. There is a demand for interior designers and that demand is likely to continue to grow over time. You can be part of it.

Find Keep reading about Art Deco furnishings

The mind is a force of immeasurable power, and we only use a tiny portion of it. In the book, “Speed Reading in only One Hour” I show you how to tap some of that unused power and how to use it for your own improved grades in high school, college, and great successes life.

Your brain and mind are capable of understanding from 10,000 to 50,000 units of information every minute; one unit being equal to one word. This information is based upon somewhat old statistics (1980’s). Based on new speed reading technology, as well as strides in brain and mind development, you can probably achieve phenomenal reading speeds.

The average HS grad, when tested, reads about 250 words per minute. The college student would be reading at an average of about 300 words per minute. But, no matter what your baseline reading speed, don’t worry, it is only the beginning. Can you imagine what an advantage you will have to be able to read over 100% faster than you had before? The possibilities are limitless.

Humans receive information through five physical senses, (touching, tasting, hearing, smelling, and seeing) and through those we make decisions. Actually, we make choices and judgments from factors that the physical senses bring into play. The five physical senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch) are preprogrammed for automatic reaction.

We learn in many way, not only from physical senses, but through other forms of thought. Most thinking is conscious in nature. Senses, on the other hand, work automatically. An example of an automatic response might be: when a hungry teenager smells pizza, he or she begins salivating. Or was that Pavlov’s dog? Actually, it’s the same! What’s taking place is that the sense of smell (called olfactory senses) has automatically brought up a thought, “PIZZA”, to the brain and mind. The thought may be unconscious.

Sensing food is a physical sensation of your sense smell. It is a mental sensation (unconsciously or consciously) through thinking. And finally, there tends to be a physical sensation by eating, swallowing, and smiling. To summarize the PIZZA experience: Brain and mind is where the “action” is — and your body is where the “reaction” is.

The brain and the mind hold enormous untapped potential; I’m going to help you tap into that potential through Speed Reading in One Hour, available at speedread.org, and I’ll show you how you can succeed in your college life and beyond.

For lots of people interested in a profession that offers a great salary, high job satisfaction, and prestige, the medical field is an obvious choice. Doctors are traditionally among the most honored members of their communities. One of the most attractive specialties within the medical field is optometry. Optometry offers all the perks normally associated with being a family practitioner, surgeon, or other specialist without some of the negative factors associated with being a doctor.

Optometry is a rewarding field for those who want to make a difference. They diagnose and treat people who must manage vision disorders, sometime literally giving sight to the blind. Some of their usual duties include testing patients’ vision, fitting people for contacts, and writing prescriptions for glasses.

Optometrists can reasonably expect to attain a six figure salary during their career, but they do work hard to get where they are. Like any physician, lots of years in school are required, and it is heavy in the math and sciences. A four year Bachelor of Arts degree is required, followed by a four year Doctor of Optometry degree. There is a lot of competition to get into optometry school; there are only seventeen accredited schools in the country. After graduation, there are state board exams to pass, and continuing education is required for regularly scheduled license renewal requirements.

One of the biggest advantages optometrists have over other doctors is better hours. Certainly, an optometrist will never be startled out of bed at midnight to rush to the hospital on a regular basis. Unless an optometrist is working for a big national outfit or there is some extreme emergency, hours are generally restricted to Monday through Friday with no on-call duty scheduled. If you have your own private practice, you will be able to decide your own hours, obviously. Besides normal hours, optometrists suffer a lower stress level than do other physicians. Optometrists seldom hold a person’s life in their hands, and they do not generally lie awake at night wondering about what they could have done differently.

There are many reasons to enter the optometry profession. It is a special opportunity to help people, and you get to sleep in on the weekend!

There is no doubt about it; English is the internationally recognized language of business. Nearly all of the world’s international business is done in English and the main goal of virtually every business out there is to become international and sell their product or service all over the globe. So to truly be as successful as you possibly can in the business world - to learn English as a second language is an absolute must.

There are literally millions and millions of resources available for those that want to get an extra edge on the competition when it comes to performance in business - tons of magazines and books and the incredible amount of information available on the internet could all easily keep the aspiring business student busy learning for years and years to come.

With all of the information available to help people excel in the world of business, there should be no problem at all for someone who really has the desire to do well in their particular venture right?… Well the only problem that could arise has to do with the fact that the majority of this information is exclusively available in English. So as a hopeful international business person - most of the communicating you’ll have do regarding your company’s international business will need to be done in English, and virtually all of the amazing resources available to you to make yourself a better business person will also come in the form of English, these are two of the prime reasons that, as a future business person, learning English may be the best possible move for the future of your career.

Most of the work that you’ll be doing as a business person (especially an international business person) will be done on a computer - processing orders, creating sales registers, providing price and freight quotes to customers, ordering product and managing inventory will all likely be jobs that are done entirely on a computer. To be successful at your job, you’ll need to be competent in almost all of these tasks at some stage of your career, which means that you’ll have to be competent when it comes to using a computer and all of the most common computer programs and applications are in - you guessed it - English.

As you can see, learning English will most certainly help your career in many ways, and conversely, not learning English could very well inhibit the growth of your career as a business person. Once you’ve mastered English as your second language you’ll be a much more well rounded employee, capable of handling many tasks that some of your co workers, even your boss, may not be able to handle. This could make you a very valuable asset to your company, it could ensure your job security and may very possible even put you in line for a nice promotion in the future.

Deciding to learn English as your second language could easily prove to be the very best decision you’ll ever make in regards to your career. It could open up opportunities for you that you never dreamed possible and with the popularity of learning English as a second language on the rise, there are more and more ways to do so open to you every day. Whether you choose day or evening classes, online learning or English lessons from a private tutor there is surely a method of learning out there that will fit into your schedule as well as your budget so you can begin right away working your way toward a big improvement in your level of knowledge and maybe a better position in your career.