I love listening to podcasts – We Can Do Hard Things (Glennon Doyle), Mel Robbins and many others… I am drawn to people that are real and the feeling that we are in this LIFE together. That is my tribe/village/possy!
I was listening to Mel Robbins and she was laughing about the wedgy she got from wearing shapewear to an art event. How she stuck her hand down her pants to unleash the wedgie and then went on to smell her hands – LOL!! The bottom (no pun intended) premise is that you gotta laugh at the funny stuff in life! Mel is the type of person, like myself, that told people what happened at the time and posted a funny pic of her that day. Then proceeded to talk about it on her podcast – Love it! Especially since my sister and I are very smell oriented and have been known to smell the strangest things…. Just because! I know some of you are cringing, but others are rolling on the floor hysterically because you relate.
Studies show that when someone laughs at themselves, we perceive them as confident, strong, intelligent, etc… I have never thought about it that way, but I guess that makes sense. When I am around that kind of person, I tend to think, “I want to be friends with them!”
I think I got the ability to laugh at myself from my grandma – God rest her soul! She was ALWAYS laughing at herself and I loved it. I would go out of my way to get her on camera asking her questions I knew would end up in laughter. She had dementia in the end and I loved asking how old she was. She would respond with, “65” and I would tell her she was actually “93.” “What??!!!”, she would say and then proceed to laugh hysterically. It was the best and those videos are priceless.
When we share the “funny” about ourselves, it is a gift to others. I was at an executive women’s group and the gal next to me was giving me her business card and said that one time instead of pulling out her business card, she pulled out her Victoria Secret free panty card and proceeded to hand it to a gentleman – LOL!!! This gal was an executive/partner, I had just met her and I LOVED that she shared this with me. I had come to the meeting late because of an emergency at home and this literally made my day and gave me a break from the stressful things going on in my own life. Your own funny stories can be a gift to others in so many ways.
As a business owner, I have gifts that have gotten me to where I am today, however there are sometimes you might wonder, “Is she an idiot?” That is probably extreme and the story I am telling myself, but it makes me giggle. My team knows that I tend to do things they have phrased “Natalie-isms” and instead of getting frustrated, we can laugh at them.
One of my dear friends and team members, recently told me as we were celebrating the 8 years of working together, that Pacific Perks has helped her grow personally so much. One of those ways… Laughing at herself. She expressed how hard she used to be on herself about making a mistake, but after seeing me consistently laugh at my own mistakes, she learned to be easier on herself and laugh a little more.
I think one of the gifts in life is being okay knowing, you don’t KNOW everything. As a kid, I was a “know-it-all” and I am so glad I am far from that. Maybe it was being pushed out into the world as a young adult and realizing, I didn’t know shit! That scary time might have stripped me to my core and allowed me to build up a curious mind, a life-long learner mentality, and an appreciation for other people’s talents. I truly believe that is why Pacific Perks is successful. I know my weaknesses, I embrace them and fill in the gaps with people that are better than I!
But back to laughing!! Life is hard enough AND we can still giggle at it. Here are some things that make me laugh from the inside out. What makes you laugh? I would love to hear your funny stories!
- Watching my doxie do funny things
- America’s Funniest Home Videos – I am in stitches!
- Laughing with a friend about their “beige” flags or funny things they have down
- Watching a friend do something embarrassing or loud in a public place
- Funny Memes
- Mike Peabody’s post on Facebook
- We Can Do Hard Things – Most Embarrassing Stories – Oh my god you will die at this episode!
- Watching babies laugh
- Unproofed texts and/or emails – These are the best!
- Taking an edible and peeing your pants laughing with your BFF
- Laughing at life’s funny things – like the “Dead End” sign at the cemetery in my hometown. You can’t make that up! Look around and you will find the funny
If you can laugh at others, you can laugh at yourself! We are all funny because we all have particular things we do that make us unique (and other people laugh at). So let go of the ego and laugh at how quirky you are or the mistakes you make because your mind was somewhere else!!!
Oh one last story! Dee is a very classy woman and was a client of ours. She emailed me to book an event. I MEANT to email back a quick, “You got it!”, instead I typed “You got Tits!” and of course I didn’t spell check it and hit send. Oh my gosh!!! She typed back hysterically and it made both of our days! She knew me well enough to know it was truly a mistake. I continue to tell that story to this day.
Well I could go on, but do me a favor! Try laughing at yourself once today and/or finding the funny in life. There are so many good benefits… Because who doesn’t like to laugh, even if it is at your expense. ;o)
With laughter,
Natalie