“If there is one thing that I can teach you,” my father used to say “it’s that you gotta remember to laugh every day.” Research has shown the health benefits of laughter ranging from strengthening the immune system to reducing food cravings to increasing one's threshold for pain. Having a sense of humor about life’s difficulties can provide a way to bond with others, look at things in a different way, normalize your experience, and keep things from appearing too overwhelming or scary. Properly developed, a good sense of humor can also keep relationships strong.
I try to find levity in the day-to-day by gravitating towards individuals who have a sense of humor, movies that are light, and activities that put a smile on my face. One of my dear friends, Maureen Langan (ML), is a master at the craft. She is one of the most fearlessly funny comics working today. Her honesty, high energy, and ability to rant on life’s absurdities make her a standout at clubs and theaters across the country. Here’s what makes this feisty female chuckle:
I watch The Office religiously. I adore the show for its humor and for the fact that it shines a light on the absurdity of most workplaces. Since his seminal article “Free Agent Nation” first appeared in Fast Company in 1997, I’ve also been a fan of Daniel Pink. At that time, he articulated beautifully something that many people were already beginning to feel in relation to their work: that most of us were tired of working incredibly hard for companies that lacked leadership and didn't share our basic values.
He posited that those who declared themselves “free agents” usually brought in a lot more money than they had earned during their years in corporate America.They also felt more invigorated and secure than they ever did in “traditional” jobs.A free agent believes that work is personal – and that one can achieve a beautiful synchronicity between who you are and what you do.
From petty office politics to bosses pitting employees against one another, to colleagues who don't pull their weight, most workplaces are a study in dysfunction. But we have been conditioned to think that the best way to motivate ourselves (and others) is through external rewards like money and title – what Daniel Pink calls the “carrot-and-the-stick approach”.
In his new book Drive:The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Pink says the key to high performance and satisfaction is intrinsic, internal motivation: the desire to follow your own interests and understand the benefits in them for you. And Daniel Pink has discovered thirty years of scientific data that confirm these outmoded ideas about work and motivation, showing us an exciting way forward.
To gain a better understanding, watch his presentation at TEDGlobal:
Here is an extract of my recent conversation with Daniel (DP):
My old college roommate recently
asked me if she still has the "shine" factor. On a quest
for a new job in this difficult market, she wanted to know if she embodied that
"sparkle" she used to have when we were just entering the workforce
after graduation.As a career coach and former recruiter,
I advised her that to be a star and advance in this current economy, she may
need to pull out some extra glitter and go well beyond the normal call of duty. Here are some other tips I shared with her:
There’s a very famous parable (credited to Russell H. Conwell) about a poor farmer who cursed his rocky fields and dreamed of a life of riches and ease. Fixing upon the idea of finding diamonds as the way to achieve his dream, he sold up his farm for a pittance and left to explore foreign lands for the precious gems he so desired. His search was futile, ultimately ending in poverty, despair and early death.
Meanwhile, the man who bought the hardscrabble farm from him soon discovered that the small, dark rocks that peppered the fields were actually raw, uncut diamonds. This led to the discovery of one of the largest and richest diamond mines of all time. Had only the poor farmer looked in his own back yard, all of his dreams could have been fulfilled!
As a coach, part of my job is helping my clients uncover their individual hidden “acre of diamonds”. Too often, we tend to overlook our own particular brand of genius, thinking that if it comes too easily, or is too much fun, it must be worthless. To uncover their personal gems, I’ll often ask my clients, “What do you think is your greatest strength? When are you most fully expressing this talent? What do you do effortlessly that is special? If you were on the cover of a magazine, what magazine would it be and what would the story be about?
Peter Bregman is a successful author and consultant on the topic of how we live and how we work. His writing captures the perfect balance between stories you enjoy and practical advice you can implement. With all of his noted success, I wondered how he discovered his own special “acre of diamonds.”
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