ZigZag - December, 2008

Have you ever joined in the "group belly laugh" exercise? It is silly as can be, but a powerful reminder of how contagious laughter is. Basically, you lie down with someone's head resting face up on your belly, and then someone else's head rests on their belly, etc. What inevitably happens is that someone starts laughing, and then of course everyone starts laughing, because the absurdity of this scene takes over and the brain's desire to reason simply vanishes. Why do silly things like this help groups to function better?

For one thing, we regress to a younger age just by getting our body involved. When we regress, we can be reminded of how simple it used to be to play and laugh. Generally, this breaks down a lot of the adult barriers and walls that exist because we've been programmed to maintain our adult poise, dignity, image, etc. With the walls down, we become more free to be our real selves (inner child and all) and we can free our creative spirit as well.

My daughter is part of an improv group which performs in the Baltimore area. It is amazing to see how free the players become as they warm up before the performance by doing childlike exercises (both vocal and physical). Then the M.C. comes out and warms up the audience to be active participants in what gets created on stage. The audience throws out ideas, words, etc. for the players to take off on. It is so lively and unforgettable because you know what happens on stage will never get created again.

A new study was published recently by the BMJ, a British medical journal, that is about the contagiousness of happiness. A study of over 47, 000 people over a twenty-year time span showed that it is not just our own choices, actions and experiences that affect our happiness, but it is the choices, actions and experiences of even those who are once or twice removed from our immediate network that affect our level of happiness. It was found that one person's happiness has a more lasting effect on the whole network (even for as long as a year) than one person's unhappiness has.

When you think about networks, and how many people you can contact by means of your email list or your list of "friends" on a social network, and how your mental state affects those who are around you, the impact of this is immense. The researchers found that your state of happiness increases the probability of happiness of those who are near you by 8-34%. This does not necessarily apply to your coworkers because there are different dynamics there. Some increase in happiness was felt through three degrees of separation in this study.

In this time of uncertainty and economic hardship, it is worthwhile to note that the influence of friends was found to impact someone's happiness more than a $5,000 raise would. So those friends really are worth more than gold.

It is more important now than ever to find ways to "follow your bliss". One crucial element of your bliss is your instinctive talents, which can only be measured by the Kolbe Index.

The Kolbe-A Index ™ is a powerful predictor of a team's success. Also of your personal success when given certain tasks to do. Whether a college student, mid-career, or about to retire, you will be freed by knowing your Kolbe M.O.

Call Dr. Pam to get a free phone consultation. She can be reached at 443-742-6038 or leave a voice mail at 410-995-0760.

Thanks for reading Zigzag. Please forward this Ezine to any friends who may share your interest.

Dr Pam is a psychologist, therapist, and Kolbe™ coach. She can be reached at www.instinctivecoach.com

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