The ABCs Of A Great Life: J Is For Joviality

Laughter, humor, a lighthearted sense of being - all of these are an important part of a well-balanced breakfast, er, life. Without humor, there is no hope. Without laughter, no love. And with a heavy heart, we live only a life of sadness and despair. Our ability to laugh at our foibles and laugh with our friends is a key indicator for predicting how readily we'll bounce back from difficulties and how well we'll handle the curveballs that life throws our way, and a quick smile is always the best defense in a situation that's hit a sour note.

In addition, medical studies have shown that indeed, laughter is the best medicine. Not only does it flood our brain with "feel good" hormones and exercise our body's core trunk muscles with spontaneous and deep contractions, but it noticeably and effectively raises our immune system's defenses in ways that are only now being fully explored - an effect which lasts considerably longer than the laughter that triggered it. Laughing lowers your blood pressure and exercises the heart. It relieves stress and helps generate an overall stability of well-being.

People with notably jovial attitudes are seen as friendlier and better adjusted, and people are drawn to them like flies to honey. Socialization with peers becomes smoother and more enjoyable, and people can't wait to rejoin and reestablish the acquaintance of those with a good sense of humor.

Of course, this does not include "humor" that hurts - biting sarcasm, "witty" putdowns, jokes made at the expense of others, mockery and other such imposters. It is doubtful that any of these recreate the same effects as true humor and lightheartedness, and I know for a fact that they attract far fewer friends.

Go on, laugh! It's good for you. Learn to bring laughter and joviality into your life and every step of the way will be filled with the warm embrace of good times spent with good friends in good health. Salut!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of SoniPitts.Com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.

She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.

MORE RESOURCES:

Midnight Happiness - WJHG-TV

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/05/one-more-day-register-november-election/news-metro/cid=1253334353ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNElzDcstj40XlXSclHnNLfVWnFJvgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=PzeO6GU-b_8Jimgurl=media.tbo.com/photos/trib/2008/oct/100508vote2.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Brandon News and Tribune/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/30492799.htmlcid=1253334353ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNFF3TTr3qnx3MWDh_5GATJoKIRR_wMidnight bHappiness/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWJHG-TV,nbsp;FLnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1We#39;re calling it Midnight bHappiness/b, to be open to make sure we give everyone that opportunity to get that last registration in, because if you miss this b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/voter_registration_deadline_monday_night/mbb7710732/cid=1253334353ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNEItj7EAbeq11yqhA5mKXiPn2tlZgVoter Registration Deadline Monday Night/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWMBB-TV/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1253334353hl=ennobrall 29 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Why money can#39;t necessarily buy happiness... - Sify

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1i-0fd=Rurl=http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php%3Fid%3D14771032cid=1254667348ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNG14fEbCX0Hij_9s-AXdn-Ijd5jVwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=9P8wI4exM6AJimgurl=im.sify.com/sifycmsimg/sep2008/Finance/14767585_rupee_currency_news.jpg width=80 height=52 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Sify/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php%3Fid%3D14771032cid=1254667348ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNG14fEbCX0Hij_9s-AXdn-Ijd5jVwWhy money can#39;t necessarily buy bhappiness/b.../abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSify,nbsp;Indianbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The bottom-line is that money can#39;t buy you bhappiness/b. That is something we probably knew all along. What is more interesting is why money can#39;t buy b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Tilghman not surprised by income, happiness survey results - Princeton University The Daily Princetonian

VoIP Providers: Providing The Happiness of Talking Without Any Frowns - TMC Net

Our pursuit of happiness - Chicago Tribune

The Congressional Betrayal of America - Capitalism Magazine

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/09/29/2008-09-29_president_bush_nancy_pelosi_among_bigges-1.htmlcid=1254851471ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNGrArbdhBTUAqvyXAD2PSS6dlt6uQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Y3QGg_pgJDsJimgurl=assets.nydailynews.com/img/2008/09/30/amd_bush-rescue-plan.jpg width=60 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2New York Daily News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.capmag.com/article.asp%3FID%3D5299cid=1254851471ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNGCu0hAQvaqfbeVh4s8F8DSqTlV8AThe Congressional Betrayal of America/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCapitalism Magazine,nbsp;Bahamasnbsp;-/font nobr54 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Senate’s fundamental purpose, after all, is to safeguard the principles of life, liberty, property and bhappiness/b that animate America by rejecting b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DcyDcSc27qWUcid=1254851471ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNEcWXCe-XOpsPJa_aiM6xZUATu8IAVideo: Congress OKs Financial Rescue, Bush Signs It/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/cyDcSc27qWU/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/cyDcSc27qWUtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254851471hl=ennobrall 1,773 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The secrets of happiness - Tehran Times

Is #39;F*** It#39; therapy the key to happiness? - Metro

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html%3FIs_F***_It_therapy_the_key_to_happiness%3F%26in_article_id%3D340055%26in_page_id%3D34%26in_a_source%3Dcid=0ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNGPrQ2-sLVdCCGe-oUWszAI-5pIagimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=5jFOpL1CBwkJimgurl=img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2008/10/johnparkin_450x300.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Metro/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html%3FIs_F***_It_therapy_the_key_to_happiness%3F%26in_article_id%3D340055%26in_page_id%3D34%26in_a_source%3Dcid=0ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNGPrQ2-sLVdCCGe-oUWszAI-5pIagIs #39;F*** It#39; therapy the key to bhappiness/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMetro,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1by LISA SCOTT - Monday, October 6, 2008 #39;F*** it#39; says John Parkin, waving his arms around. #39;F*** it, f*** it, f*** it.#39; It#39;s quite an outburst, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Charity is laudable, but it can#39;t provide health care for all - Salt Lake Tribune

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10647629cid=1254738116ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNH_xNgeMNpWnQKa5VxUCS72NKnEMACharity is laudable, but it can#39;t provide health care for all/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSalt Lake Tribune,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Sutherland Institute parrot the words of our founders, conceding that all people have a right to quot;life, liberty and the pursuit of bhappiness/b. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10647610cid=1254738116ei=rljqSMDDFKr6yATy2-09usg=AFQjCNEkR6zidVaa8P4EcI3z3JXnaG2L8QCharity not enough/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSalt Lake Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254738116hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Little happiness in Haiti - MSNBC

Happiness - Google News

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