Humor – Forge

Laugh The Loudest

Our Manifesto says…

‘If you’re really after a 3rdNut, you’ll screw up royally, strike out so many times that your arms ache from swinging, and look ridiculous to people who don’t understand that playing big demands healthy doses of failure. So stop taking yourself so seriously. Enjoy the path.’

Hold up. Aren’t my goals a serious thing? Why are you telling me to laugh at them?  We’re not.  We’re saying to laugh WITH yourself along the way.  If you can laugh at yourself while being deadly serious about your goals, this is your Tribe and it’s big enough to hold all your dreams and ambitions.

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” – Charlie Chaplin

FINDING THE FUNNY.

A major roadblock to success is taking things way too seriously. Why? Because if you don’t let a little bit of laughter in, it makes the job you’re undertaking that much more difficult.  If you know you’re going to fail, you may as well be prepared with a buffer against the unuseful feelings that will well up when you do.  The goal is not laughable, but our bungled attempts to reach it… our grandiose and often unrealistic expectations… those certainly are (at least in hindsight).

CHECK YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

You mean you didn’t succeed the first time?  Or the tenth? Join the club (or in this case, the tribe).  Just where were you thinking the “earn” part of “Earn Yours” would come into play?  Perhaps you had to grimace and claw your way to each attempt…but that’s the easy part.  What’s tougher is staring the failure straight in its ugly face and letting out a huge, honking, guffaw.  

HAVE THE LAST LAUGH.

Frustration, Inadequacy. Embarrassment. All emotions you may encounter along the path.  And all worth it if, in the end, you get to have the last laugh.  Keeping your sights focused on the bigger, better picture of where you’re headed allows you to drive a silver stake of laughter into the soul sucking vampire of seriousness.

ACTIONS TO TAKE THIS WEEK.

• Think about a place in your life that has a lot of tension, stress, or seriousness currently.
• Pretend you are looking back on the event 20 years from now, and jot down any aspects of the situation that will seem funny, silly, or laughable in hindsight.