Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Humor and Health Connection



Light Up With Laughter

HUMOR IN THE WORKPLACE by Mike Moore

1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number one problem confronting employees today.

2. Laughter boosts morale while stress erodes staff morale. It is in the best interest of any business to invest in the happiness of its employees. Laughter is an effective barometer of just how happy your people are.

3. Keeping things in perspective tends to boost morale and humor helps us keep things in perspective.

4. Humor helps facilitate change. Change is inevitable and people who laugh well and often tend to be more flexible and adaptable.

5. Communication improves when humor is used appropriately. The timely use of humor can get a point across effectively and assists in the process of problem solving.

6. Laughter and humor relieve boredom and increase creative energy.

7. Humor builds confidence. When we laugh at ourselves we are less rigid and more spontaneous. We tend to bounce back more quickly when negative things happen. Humor also makes us less fearful of making mistakes and more confident about overcoming setbacks.

8. Laughter and humor promote positive relationships. When you hear a funny story your first impulse is to tell someone and share the laughter. When laughter is shared a natural bonding takes place.

9. Humor promotes happiness and joy. It's good to be alive.

10. Quality relationships are measured by the amount of laughter present. When relationships are good, people laugh a lot. The same applies to businesses. When employees enjoy one another and laugh easily and often, we see performance improve and profits increase.

11. The humor I speak of here must never be based on laughing at someone, racism, sexism, put downs, sarcasm or ridicule. These forms of humor are destructive attempts at making one look good by making another look and feel badly. There is enough good humor to last a lifetime. Just look for it.
THEY WHO LAUGH............LAST.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Motivating Quotations

I really like these. Hope you do too. Mike

* We must prepare the young for their future and not our past. Anon

* Thoughts rule the world. Emerson

* Wisdom keeps you from making mistakes and comes from having made plenty of them.

Embracing the Mystery ( Humor and Attitude and the Quest for Happiness

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Island of Peace in a Chaotic World

As many of you know I earn my living speaking throughout Canada and the USA on Humor and Human Wellness. Frequently I get so wrapped up in my work that I have to stop and take my own advice. I have to stop and smell the roses.

That's what I did recently in one of the most beautiful and relaxing settings on earth for me... a friend's farm in the heart of Ontario Canada's Ottawa Valley.

I sat out on their deck one morning overlooking the valley as the morning sun gently caressed the meadow and a mother bluebird eagerly fed her young at one of the bluebird boxes rimming the field. As I sat there soaking up the peace and solitude I became acutely aware of a different rhythm, one of calmness and oneness with the natural world.

I was reminded of the words of Sigurd Olson, the nature writer, who once said that we all need listening points on the earth where we can slow down and listen to the rhythm of the universe.

This pleasant farm near the little country town of Beachburg Ontario is one of my listening points. It's a place filled with fond memories of country music jam sessions, shared laughter and shared pain. It is also a place of peace, hope and comfort as the stillness of the valley eagerly wraps it arms around those who take time to rest and receive the message that life indeed is good and love is abundant and eternal.

Embracing the Mystery

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Sad Facts About the Human Condition Today


* The World Health Organization says that by the year 2020 depression will be the leading cause of disability throughout the developed world.


* We live in an age of rage: road rage, air rage and now work rage.

* Eighty percent of us have low self esteem and twenty percent need a boost.

* We only achieve between 2 and 5 percent of our potential.

* Joy has vanished from our lives.

* Uncontrolled stress is killing us.

* While children laugh over 400 time a day, adults can manage only 15.

* Fear rules our lives: fear of getting old, fear of failure, rejection, death, etc.

Remember that joy and happiness are our birthrights, so fight for them. Life is too wonderful not to be enjoyed.

Hey,,, we aren't here for a long time so let's make it a good time!!


Embracing the Mystery ( Humor and Attitude and the Quest for Happiness)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Secret to Happiness



After a talk in Niagara Falls a woman came up to me and shared her Father's secret to happiness. To be happy you must... Have someone to love... something to look forward to... something meaningful to do...and someone to laugh with. GOOD ADVICE

Friday, July 10, 2009

How to Manage Stress


I have a lens on Squidoo called How to Manage Stress. Why not give it a look? There are a few freebees there for you too.

How to Manage Stress

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Family Cartoon

This cartoon was inspired by my wife Carol. Enough said.



More  cartoons
I am a firm believer in " The family that laughs together lasts together"

Laughter bonds us to one another and helps us solve the inevitable conflicts that arise in every family.

Mike Moore: A speaker weith a great message in a fun package.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Top Ten Ways to Relax On the Go By Mike Moore


1. Take three deep breaths slowly. It really works to relax the body and mind.

2. Relax the tongue. Usually the tongue is held tightly against the teeth. Free it up in the mouth so it can just rest there without tension.

3. Take one minute vacations. In your mind visit places where you find peace and stillness. Picture yourself there soaking up the beauty and solitude.

4. Relax your facial muscles. When we are tense we frown and squint which adds to the tension. Tell your facial muscles to relax and they will. Try to maintain this relaxed face throughout the day.

5. Move slowly. When you find yourself rushing for no reason, SLOW DOWN.

6. Laugh more. Laughter cuts stress in half and promotes relaxation

7. Listen to beautiful music. Mozart calms the restless spirit.

8. Watch and enjoy the sunset.

9. Visualize yourself as a balloon being inflated. As you breathe in, the balloon fills with your stress and tension. Then breathe out all the stress and tension leaving yourself limp and relaxed.

10. Enjoy the rhythm and beauty of nature for its lessons are patience and peace

For more information on Mike's popular pocket guide " 53 Natural Stress Busters " visit

http://www.motivationalplus.com/mpstress.html

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

TEN TERRIFIC SELF- MOTIVATING TIPS By Mike Moore




No one can motivate anyone to do anything. All a person can do for another is provide them with incentives to motivate themselves. Here are ten very effective strategies to help you get up and get moving toward actualizing your enormous, untapped potential.

* Be willing to leave your comfort zone. The greatest barrier to achieving your potential is your comfort zone. Great things happen when you make friends with your discomfort zone.

* Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Wisdom helps us avoid making mistakes and comes from making a million of them.

* Don't indulge in self-limiting thinking. Think empowering, expansive thoughts.

*Choose to be happy. Happy people are easily motivated. Happiness is your birthright so don't settle for anything else.

* Spend at least one hour a day in self-development. Read good books or listen to inspiring tapes. Driving to and from work provides an excellent opportunity to listen to self-improvement tapes.

* Train yourself to finish what you start. So many of us become scattered as we try to accomplish a task. Finish one task before you begin another.

* Live fully in the present moment. When you live in the past or the future you aren't able to make things happen in the present.

* Commit yourself to joy. C.S. Lewis once said, " Joy is the serious business of heaven."

* Never quit when you experience a setback or frustration. Success could be just around the corner.

* Dare to dream big dreams. If there is anything to the law of expectation then we are moving in the direction of our dreams, goals and expectations.

The real tragedy in life is not in how much we suffer, but rather in how much we miss, so don't miss a thing.

Charles Dubois once said, " We must be prepared, at any moment, to sacrifice who we are for who we are capable of becoming."


Check out Motivate This

View a 5 minute video on Stress and Humor



Friday, July 03, 2009

Humorous Oneliners

George Bernard Shaw once said that if you find something funny search it for hidden truth. Here are few pearls of wisdom packaged in humour. Enjoy.

1. You wouldn't worry what people thought about you if you only knew how seldom they did.

2. To expect life to treat you fairly because you're a good person is like expecting a bull not to charge you because you're a vegetarian.

3.Worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but won't get you anywhere.

4. Pain and suffering are a lot like gas....they too shall pass.

5. Always borrow money from a pessimist. They don't expect to be paid back.

6. Anyone who says that swimming is good for the figure has never taken a real good look at a whale.

7. A bore is always "ME" deep in conversation.

8. Some people think their lives are full, when really they're just cluttered.

9. If at first you don't succeed, try not to be amazed.

10. A leader without a sense of humour is like a grass cutter at a cemetery. You have a lot of people under you paying absolutely no attention.

Live Better....Laugh More

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Mike Moore is an international speaker and writer on humor and stress management and humor in the workplace.