Have you ever been red with embarrassment, white with fear or blue, just a “titch” depressed? If yes, the good news is you have material and the potential to create humor causing others to laugh out loud (LOL). “Seriously,” you may be sassily asking? “Embarrassment, fear and depression are something to laugh at, particularly mine? Clearly, you don’t have a clue or my life experiences. And, why would I want to expose myself like that?”
Seriously. Look at the stressful painful parts of your life. Anything from a bad hair day to death counts. In time, and you get to determine the length of time, take the painful and stressful parts and turn ’em, twist ’em, and tweak ’em just a “titch” (a Southern unit of measurement meaning more than a scoosh and less than a smidgen). It can result in hysterectomy material that is hysterical. Well, that was just one of my painful life experiences that eventually turned into laugh out loud material.
To incorporate the red, white and blue of humor you must go “APE.” “Literally,” you ask? Yep! And, metaphorically too. Here’s how:
A-Awareness is the first step to creating a LOL experience from the painful parts of your life. They also are what’s screaming the loudest for expression. And emotions left unchecked will spread to your hips or worse. Before your nickname becomes “thunder thighs,” identify the pain and let it out in a playful way.
P-Permission is what you must give yourself to go APE. Some of us need more permission than others to act abnormally. The “crazies” of the world, not so much.
This is the “turn it, twist it, tweak it” part of the abnormal program. You gotta cartwheel outside of your comfort zone. Show your armpits…go APE!
E-Fun is what you have to have with the painful parts and it’s what the E in APE stands for. “What” you say? “APF doesn’t spell APE. Correct. APF doesn’t spell anything nor does it give you a vivid, memorable, clear picture acronym of the three actions required to change the pain into a memory making LOL moment. You may need professional humor help. If so, call me.
Why? Because until we can laugh at the pain, it controls us. It’s in the laughter that the release is allowed so we can let go of the pain and take control of our sometimes painful lives.
Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. It’s the red, white and blue or humor that will bring your sparkle back.
In time and every time, laughter is the sparkler of life!
LOL Often & Much!
June Cline, CSP
For more fun stories and information about humor, go to JuneCline.com. June believes there is a real and serious return on investment of laughing out loud (The ROI of LOL) with customers, colleagues and kin folk to build connection, communications and profit.