This is the first in a series of blogs about the different areas in your life that you can reflect on using my “How Fulfilled are You?” questionnaire. I chose to do this area first because I see so many people who’ve lost that spark; lost that sense of fun in their lives, because all the doing gets in the way so the point of this blog is to remind you to give yourself permission to go out and have some fun.

When did you last laugh - I mean really laugh; laugh until you cried? Did you know that laughing is good for you?

It releases endorphins, the feel good hormones. You can’t feel anxious or sad when you laugh, can you? It’s good for your health as it relieves stress and, by decreasing the stress hormones, it improves your immunity to diseas. The endorphins give you that feeling of all over wellbeing and laughing even protects the heart by improving the function of blood vessels.

So out of 6 what is your score for fun and laughter right now? What could you do to increase that score?

Here’s some ideas:-

• Start with smiling whenever you get the chance. Smiling is innate in us, look at the smile of even a tiny baby. I have a photo of my grandson smiling at me on my phone. I can’t help but smile back.
• Make an effort to surround yourself with people who laugh, it’s catching.
• Bring back some spontaneity in your life. I was coaching a client yesterday who was looking for more spontaneity in her life. She suddenly recalled times in her life when she was spontaneous and it has given her the impetus to lighten her everyday load so that she can have more spontaneity on a daily basis.
• Make a list of all of the things in your life you are grateful for. It’s much easier to smile and laugh when you are in a positive frame of mind.

So get laughing! And if you are struggling I can help you get more fun, laughter and sparkle back in your life on line or if you live in Cheshire face to face or join one of my groups

Let me end with this quote: “At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities”. ~Jean Houston