Face it; these are tough times!

 

So, what do we do about it?

 

Well, as the song by the immortal Troggs goes, “You can cry if you want too!”

 

And admit it; sometimes you just want to cry.

 

I was conducting a site visit with a client recently and attended a meeting with his management team.  During the meeting delivered the grim reality of their new fiscal/calendar year budget’s.  It was going to be a tough year!  The silver lining is that since this was healthcare, one of the few sectors that are growing in this economy, in some ways, they were still riding the gravy train.  But it didn’t feel like it.

 

His closing message was; “we can cry about it or we can just roll up our sleeves and get to work.”  Personally I would have said, “we can, ‘Get Out of Bed and Go to Work!’”

 

As we left the meeting I observed the following scenario.  A resident approached (we were in a Nursing Home) Brenda, the department manager responsible for Activities and said, “I want two wines!”  Brenda, was caught unaware and said, “You want what?”

 

He repeated, “I’ve had enough.  I want two wines!” 

 

Brenda said, “Me too!  Wah, Wah!”

 

You can cry if you want to!

 

Brenda and the resident shared a laugh; she then checked his doctor’s orders and got him his two glasses of wine.

 

I wish to commend Brenda for understanding that taking yourself less seriously has no bearing upon your commitments (and your ability to fulfill those commitments).

 

The Laugh Doctor, Cliff Kuhn, MD, makes this point well in his latest “The Fun Times” article “Why Boxers are So Happy.”  He starts off by taking on the popular thought that making love after a big fight is a great experience.  He says that, “in many cases that’s true.  In fact, that’s why the press isn’t allowed into the locker rooms after a boxing match.”  Brrump-bump….

 

Dr. Kuhn goes on to ask, “Did that little story make you smile? It was silly, wasn’t it?”  He then uses this example to point out that even the best boxer or biggest boxing fan could (in most cases) find humor in this joke.  And finally, this brings light to the fact that, much like Brenda above, taking yourself less seriously has no bearing on your commitments and/or your ability to fulfill those commitments?

 

I couldn’t have said it better!  In fact, I won’t even try.  Click on this link to read Dr. Cliff Kuhn’s article yourself. 

 

http://www.natural-humor-medicine.com/The_Fun_Times-boxing.html

 

So, you can cry if you want to; or you can laugh. 

 

Laughter, even at work (or in the boxing arena) does not diminish your commitments or your ability to fulfill your commitments.  In other articles you have heard me also speak about the endorphin-releasing  benefits of singing out loud; you can ad to this the benefits of dancing.

 

Take it from “Men at Work”

 

We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
Cause your friends don’t dance
And if they don’t dance
Well they’re no friends of mine!

 

Get the job done but have some fun!

 

Lon Kieffer, author of “Get Out of Bed and Go to Work!”, Speaker, Consultant, Expert on Workplace Culture Change and Generational Conflicts, gives seminars, keynote and plenary addresses, runs annual sales meetings, and provides Common Sense Consulting at:  www.LonKieffer.com. He can be reached at:  (302) 462-6748 or via email at:  Lon@LonKieffer.com