Entrepreneurs: Laughing at Yourself
by Miki Saxon
Laughing at yourself is often not high on entrepreneurs list of life skills, but it’s an important one to learn.
It used to be called “standing on your dignity;” I’ve written about getting off it before, but these days it seems there are more people standing on theirs.
There is a major difference between being laughed at and doing the laughing.
It’s an age-old dichotomy.
If someone else slips on a banana peel it’s hilarious (think AFV), but if “I” slip it’s harder to see the humor.
This is especially true when the venue moves to the workplace.
“I” may find it pretty funny if a colleague sticks his metaphoric foot in it, but those feelings are different if it’s “my” foot.
Whether you’re afraid of losing respect, like my client in the post referenced above, angry, or just plain embarrassed, learning to laugh is the best solution.
Laughter defuses anger and nullifies embarrassment; as to respect, the ability to laugh at oneself increases it.
If you’re the boss, it makes you more approachable, builds trust and has a strong motivational factor.
Laughter offers major health benefits and being able to laugh at yourself, whether in public or in private, means you will always be entertained.
What it comes down to is that you can’t lose by learning to laugh at yourself.
Flickr image credit: Brett Jordan
June 18th, 2013 at 4:30 am
[…] Saxon from MAPping Company Success presents Entrepreneurs: Laughing at Yourself. “A rarely talked about component of success, whether at work or life in general, is the ability […]
November 1st, 2013 at 1:15 am
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