The Importance Of Laughing And Smiling As Often As Possible (Troubles Are Always Lurking).

Tweet

Most of us have heard the saying "Laughter is good for soul" at sometime or another. As I have grown older and wiser, that saying has come to impact my life significantly. Smiling and laughter are probably two of the easiest things that we as people are able to do. They don't cost anything to do, and very little effort is required to engage in them. Growing up as kids, we were taught to smile for pictures, as well as laughing whenever we see or hear something that we find funny. Easy right? While I believe that it is important for kids to smile and laugh a lot, I also feel that it is just as important for us as adults to find things that smile us smile daily. Too many of us find ourselves caught up in the daily struggles of life that we often forget the importance of laughing and smiling. Most of us are aware of how smiling and laughing can benefit us mentally and psychologically. I mean we naturally feel good whenever we're able to engage in these acts genuinely. However, I've grown to realize that there is another benefit that these acts can potentially bring us; appreciation. Life is unpredictable, which means that troubles are always lurking. This is one of the main reasons why I've come to realize the importance of laughing and smiling as much as possible.

Hey, how's it going ladies and gentlemen? Brad H. back at it once again with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Hope everyone has been doing well and staying positive since the last post. It's been nearly two weeks since the Super Bowl has taken place, and I thought I would quickly share my thoughts on the result. In my last post, I had mentioned how I didn't like neither team, but I was pulling for the Falcons since they had several local players. I also mentioned that I thought the Patriots would win, which was ultimately what happened unfortunately. While watching the game, I was very excited thinking that Atlanta was going to win once they took that commanding 28-3 lead. I was texting with several friends about how it was over, etc. Of course that turned out to be wrong in the end. I really have no explanation for why Atlanta basically conked out in the second half of that game. It really looked like an entirely different team that showed up in the second half. I jokingly told a friend that they clearly must have celebrated at halftime and had a few drinks or something. Anyway, although it is disappointing for me to accept, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is now a 5 time Super Bowl champion. I really feel bad for the Atlanta fans out there. Its gotta suck to know that your team blew a lead that big. Anyway, I just wanted to give my thoughts on the game real quick. Now lets go ahead and talk more about the importance of laughing and smiling as often as possible.

As I always point out before discussing topics on here, peoples individual viewpoints and opinions will always vary. The goal here isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather to paint a topic in a light that readers may not have looked at before. I don't expect everyone to share in my views, but I do hope that the way I view things can leave others with something to walk away thinking about more. Any comments or views on this or any other topic that anyone may have are always welcome here. There isn't much to get into on how this topic came about. As I stated previously, wisdom and age deserve the biggest credit for why I thought about this particular topic. This topic is one that I often talk about my family members of mine. I mainly discuss it often because I feel that we often don't appreciate how blessed we are whenever things are going fairly well for us. Many of us develop that complacent state of mind and forget that all it takes is a second for things to change. As with the majority of my writings, I hope that this topic can serve as a reality check for those of us that may be in need of it. If you are one of those people that this may apply to, there should be absolutely no shame in needing a reality check. I think it is something that we all need occasionally.

So we all know and hear about how small acts like laughing and smiling help regulate good vibes. For whatever reasons that may be, laughing and smiling just makes us feel happy for that present moment that we're engaging in them. From my perspective, I believe there is no price tag that can be placed upon seeing someone that you haven't seen in a long time that you care for, which fills us up with unspeakable happiness that causes us to grin from ear to ear. I also believe that there is no tangible value on seeing something that causes us to laugh uncontrollably until the point where we're crying tears of joy. All of these things make us feel good and happy right? Now we're all aware that in life, for everything that is good and makes us smile and laugh, there is also bad that comes with frowns and tears of pain. There is no getting around the fact that regardless of how much happiness and joy that life can bring, pain, heartache and sorrows are also a huge part of life as well. A huge chunk of the heartaches of life that we experience are things that happen outside of our control, but there are some people that bring a lot of these things upon themselves. Well bringing it upon themselves may not be the best characterization, but some people allow themselves to mentally remain in a state of depression when things aren't going so well.

So why is it important not to allow ourselves to remain in a negative state of mind constantly? Think about this for a second; one day you keep on living, someone that you know or love is going to die. More likely than not at some point in your life, you're going to know what it is like to fall in love with someone and experience a heartbreak. You're going have the experience of wanting to achieve a goal, only find that you're gonna experience failures occasionally. You probably get the gist of what I'm saying, but the thing that these things have in common is that they are guaranteed to happen eventually, and they also bring heartache and disappointment. So it's fairly plain and simple why it is important to laugh and smile as often as possible. We have to do these things have often as we can because troubles and hardships are always lurking. Death, strife and stress are all guaranteed in this life, so in between those sad moments that are guaranteed to happen in life, we have to be able to smile and enjoy life as best as we possibly can. As I mentioned earlier in the post, smiling and laughing can help give us a sense of appreciation. Since they are feel good acts, they can help teach us to appreciate the good moments in life, because the bad is always waiting in the cut.

Now with all of that said, I'm in no way saying that we should always be laughing and smiling. Life is all about balance, so of course we're going to face moments of sadness. All I'm saying is that we should always find something to smile or laugh about daily. Beyond just being a great act to engage in, smiling also has many benefits to us both physically and mentally. A few of them include the releasing of endorphins, lower stress and anxiety, and the increase of the immune system. So the message in this week's post is pretty clear and straightforward. Lets work on finding more reasons to laugh and smile daily, because troubles will always be lurking. I'm pretty sure that many of you out there don't have a problem laughing and smiling, so hopefully this can serve as a help to those that maybe have had a hard time finding reasons to smile as of late. Just know that no matter how much darkness you're facing, there is always something to smile about. The quote that I'm going to leave you all with today comes from a great song by India Arie called "There's Hope". There's a lyric in the chorus on the song that goes; "There's hope, it don't cost a thing to smile, you don't have to pay to laugh, you better thank God for that."

Well my peeps, we have arrived at the end of another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I thank everyone that stopped by to check out what I have to say once again. As always, my hope is that there was some meaning and understanding that could be gained from this topic. In the event that isn't the case nor applies to you, your visit here is still appreciated. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts to contribute, feel free to leave those down below. Hope you all have a great and enjoyable weekend ahead. For those of you that are basketball fans, be sure to check out the NBA's All Star Weekend that starts today. Alright I'm out guys, so until next time, I wish you all peace, wellness, and positive thoughts. See you all in the next one.

©2017 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Always Celebrate The Small Things In Life.

Tweet

I'm out here trying to do big things yo! We're doing big things out there! We're out here making some seriously big moves! Does any of that sound familiar? I'm fairly positive that most of us have heard similar statements before. The society that we live in puts great emphasis on the word "Big". We've been conditioned to think big in nearly everything that we do, and although I think that having a think big mentality can be a positive mentality to have, I also feel that this mentality has become somewhat of a hindrance to us. While I feel that we should always think big and aim high in life, many of us have forgotten the importance of the small things that life offers us. It's fine and perfectly normal to have the "big" mindset, however, it is also important to celebrate the small things as well.

What's going on people? Welcome to another edition edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Like I always say in my posts; if you're giving this topic a read right now, I greatly appreciate you taking out the time to stop through. So for the topic this time around, I'm going to be talking about the importance of celebrating the small things in life. I'm also going to be discussing how reaching smaller goals can be helpful towards a bigger cause. This topic isn't anything new or profound, nor is it a topic that we haven't heard countless times before. However, there are always different ways and methods to address a specific subject, so I figured I'd go ahead and give my own personal perspective on this one.

Before we get into this subject, I want to state that the idea of thinking big or small varies from person to person. We're all individuals that have a different view of the world, so what is considered big or small for one person may be different for someone else. Now as I stated earlier in this post, we've been conditioned to think that doing or accomplishing something big is the best indicator of success. Most people equate the word "success" to something big. If you're a music artist and you're able to draw big crowds of fans to your concerts, then you're considered to be a successful artist right? If you're an athlete or sports team that is able to fill up arenas full of people, then you're successful sports franchise right? These two examples that I've given definitely personify success, but lets face it, most of us will never know what it means to be a big-time musician or athlete. Since most of us will never know how success on that large of a scale may feel, we have to define success on our own terms, which means that we have to measure it on a smaller scale.

Uh oh! I said view success on a smaller scale, so that must mean that I'm saying that we shouldn't think big or high aim high right? Wrong! See, many of us go wrong when we compare our success or lack thereof to others. We use what others have accomplished in their own personal lives as a benchmark for ourselves. There's nothing wrong with having a desire to model our own success in the shape of people that are already successful. However, the problem that can develop with this mentality is that we often feel as if we're a failure if we never reach that level of success that we've set as the standard inside of our minds. We've allowed ourselves to think and dream so big that we often overlook the small successes and accomplishments we've already reached. This is where the importance of celebrating the small things in life comes into play.

So what are the small things in life that are worth celebrating? Again, it depends on what you see as big or small for your life. From my own personal perspective, the small things are the things that do not necessarily have a monetary value. How much does it cost to give someone you care about a hug or kiss? How much will it cost you to visit with an old friend that you haven't seen in a long time? How much does it cost to attend someone's graduation? See where I'm going with this? Success doesn't always have to be defined as something big. If you're willing to go out of your way to help someone, or if you strive to have a positive impact on the world as a whole, then you're likely already successful; regardless of how small your accomplishments are compared to others. Even if you don't possess much from a material standpoint, something as small as the things I mentioned are worth you celebrating every now and then. Now lets briefly move onto the second point of view of celebrating the small things in life.

If you're trying to climb the ladder of success in reaching your goals in life, it's importance to celebrate each rung you reach on the ladder towards that goal. No matter how big or small a goal you've set may be, reaching that goal will not be an overnight process. In fact, getting to the top of your individual ladder can be a long and tedious process. This is why it's important that we celebrate every accomplishment we make towards that goal. From my perspective, when we celebrate and reflect upon those small steps towards larger goals, we develop a greater appreciation for those moments of reaching those bigger achievements even more. Additionally, when you accomplish and celebrate smaller things towards a bigger goal, it helps increase your drive and motivation to reach your destination even more. It's equivalent to gaining momentum towards something, which can be a valuable tool for us all.

I believe I've gotten the main points that I wanted to hit on out there, so I'm going to go ahead and bring this to a close. Just remember to be mindful and conscience of every positive thing that life has to offer you whether it's big or small. A celebration doesn't have to be a large, huge party, but rather a brief moment of reflection and appreciation. Remember to think and aim big, but take small strides on your journey. And, with those small strides, celebrate all you've achieved along the way. Well that's it for this edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope some meaning and understanding was gained from this, and I thank you all who have stopped by again. See you all in the next one! Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.