Full Description
Humor gets very little respect! While references to the importance of having a sense of humor are liberally sprinkled throughout the popular media, and it is usually mentioned as one of the qualities of effective employees, it is rare to find purposeful humor practice. Humor is without a doubt the one quality that most of us agree is needed in life. However, it is rare to find serious applications on the benefits of applying humor in everyday life and in our world of work. When the federal government tried to incorporate humor into a staff development program of a federal agency, there was an outcry. It seems that humor was thought to be a waste of taxpayer money, and the program was axed.
The purpose of Using Humor to Maximize Living is to affirm, sustain, and encourage people in the practice of humor not only as a personal tool to optimize a healthy life style, but also to maximize the benefits of humor in everyday life. Check out the research that includes a review on the use of humor to nurture creativity, to increase the capacity for memory retention, to support an optimal work environment, and to build safe communities that reflect the relational trust necessary for maximizing living.
Author, Mary Kay Morrison teaches a 3 hour grad course in Humor Studies through the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) at the annual conference each year: http://www.aath.org/humor-academy
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Humor: The Tonic for Tired Blood
Chapter 2 Developing Your Humor Being: A Nut Is Born
Chapter 3 Examining Brain Research and Humor: Mouse Droppings
Chapter 4 Hurtful Humor Is No Laughing Matter
Chapter 5 The Humor Workout: Pumping Up with Practice
Chapter 6 Humor At Work: Stories of Courage
Chapter 7 Leadership is a Funny Thing
Appendix 1 Humor Terminology: Coming to Terms with Humor
Appendix 2 Humor Styles Inventory
Appendix 3 Jasheway Identify Humor Sense: Identifying Your Sense of Humor
Appendix 4 Comedian List
Appendix 5 Categories of Humor
Appendix 6 Humor Reflections
Appendix 7 Humor Belief Inventory
Appendix 8 Toy List
Appendix 9 Take It and Make It Funny
Appendix 10 Destructive Games People Play
Appendix 11 List of figures and tables
Appendix 12 Contributors and Recommended Resources
References
About the Author
