{"id":21881,"date":"2014-05-12T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-05-12T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/?p=21881"},"modified":"2018-03-01T07:03:47","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T12:03:47","slug":"laughter-one-thing-need-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/laughter-one-thing-need-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Laughter: The One Thing You Need on Your To-Do List"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26749\" src=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg\" alt=\"laughing,mom laughing,laughter\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg 700w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg?resize=375,250 375w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg?resize=240,160 240w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg?resize=600,399 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I recently attended a conference for work out in San Diego and found myself laughing hysterically at the organizer\u2019s opening remarks. What surprised me was not her quick wit and natural ease on stage (though she was very funny!).<\/p>\n<h2>No &#8211; what surprised me is that I realized I hadn\u2019t laughed like that <em>in a long, long time<\/em>.<\/h2>\n<p>As moms, there are so many things on our to-do lists: <em>Kids! House! Work! Oh My!<\/em> We go from managing one activity to the next, until we finally curl up in bed only to think about all the stuff we have to get done the next day.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe, it\u2019s the opposite. Our kids are in school or on a playdate (or perhaps right in front of us) and we find ourselves bored and unmotivated to do anything.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that so much has been written lately about the importance of self-care. Thanks to women like Kris Carr and Arianna Huffington and many, many others, we are drinking more Kale smoothies in the morning and trying to get more sleep. We are mediating, going to yoga and doing things for ourselves like taking a writing or photography class. We are trying to breath more.<\/p>\n<h3>But are we laughing?<\/h3>\n<p>Once, years ago, when I was in town doing errands with my then-toddlers, I caught a glimpse of myself in the store window and didn\u2019t recognize the harried young woman in the reflection. I remember seeing a grimace on my face and wondered, &#8220;Is that how I walk around all day \u2013 <em>with a grimace?<\/em>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the case; while I have plenty of \u201cgrimace moments\u2019 throughout the day, I also have plenty of content ones, filled with gratitude and peace.<\/p>\n<p>But it wasn\u2019t until the conference when the organizer had me laughing in stitches that I realized how much I needed that in my life too.<\/p>\n<p>I could wax on about the actual benefits one gets from laughing more (reducing stress and blood sugar levels, increasing one\u2019s ability to tolerate discomfort\/pain, improving relationships and job performance, improving productivity, overcoming resistance, establishing an overall positive emotional climate, etc.).<\/p>\n<p>. . . But we all know that.<\/p>\n<p>I could use this opportunity to tell a great joke.<\/p>\n<p>. . . But I\u2019m not that funny (I have other admirable qualities, but alas, natural wit is just one of them).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26751\" src=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Moms-Laughing.jpg\" alt=\"laughing,laughter,laughing moms,friends laughing\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Moms-Laughing.jpg 700w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Moms-Laughing.jpg?resize=375,250 375w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Moms-Laughing.jpg?resize=240,160 240w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Moms-Laughing.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Moms-Laughing.jpg?resize=600,399 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Instead, I\u2019ll just invite you to take a minute to remember how great you felt the last time you had a belly laugh, and&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">challenge you to get a good laugh in once a day<\/span>.<\/h3>\n<p>You may not have a hilarious conference organizer at your doorstep, but laughter should be something readily available to <em>anyone<\/em>. Grab an old friend and reminisce about something silly you did years ago. Ask your toddler an \u201cadult\u201d question and see what comes out of his mouth. Watch five minutes of Comedy Central or, better yet, google \u201cfunny animal videos\u201d (if you don\u2019t find any of these funny, we may need an intervention).<\/p>\n<p>So before you down your Kale juice, and rush off to yoga class, kindergarten drop-off, or the office, try adding \u201claughter\u201d to your to-do list and see the positive ripple effects it can have on your business and your life.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Like what you read?\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Also check out our latest toddler\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/casting-calls\/\">casting calls<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/community\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">parenting advice<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/find-a-job\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">jobs for moms<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/community-events\/find-family-friendly-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">events<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/child-care\/nannies-in-brooklyn\/\">Nannies in Brooklyn<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/child-care\/nannies-in-manhattan\/\">Nannies in Manhattan<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/child-care\/nannies-in-queens\/\">Nannies in Queens<\/a>\u00a0+ More!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Jennifer Faherty is a Martha Beck Certified Life Coach focused on helping women thrive in business and life. To get more updates from Jennifer on \u201chow to create wealth and happiness from the inside out,\u201d sign up at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jenniferfaherty.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.jenniferfaherty.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are mediating, going to yoga and doing things for ourselves like taking a writing or photography class. We are trying to breath more. But are we laughing?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1327,"featured_media":26749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[46,59,53,50],"class_list":["post-21881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moms","tag-activities","tag-entertainment","tag-health","tag-relationships"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/laughter-one-thing-need-list\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Laughter: The One Thing You Need on Your To-Do List","url":"http:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/laughter-one-thing-need-list\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/laughter-one-thing-need-list\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg"},"articleSection":"Moms","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"jenniferfaherty"}],"creator":["jenniferfaherty"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Mommybites New York","logo":""},"keywords":["activities","entertainment","health","relationships"],"dateCreated":"2014-05-12T12:00:27Z","datePublished":"2014-05-12T12:00:27Z","dateModified":"2018-03-01T12:03:47Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Laughter: The One Thing You Need on Your To-Do List\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/mommybites.com\\\/newyork\\\/laughter-one-thing-need-list\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/mommybites.com\\\/newyork\\\/laughter-one-thing-need-list\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mommybites.com\\\/newyork\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/Mom-Laughing.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mommybites.com\\\/newyork\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/Mom-Laughing.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"Moms\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"jenniferfaherty\"}],\"creator\":[\"jenniferfaherty\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Mommybites New York\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"activities\",\"entertainment\",\"health\",\"relationships\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2014-05-12T12:00:27Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-12T12:00:27Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-01T12:03:47Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/mommybites.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Mom-Laughing.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21881"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}