LALOYM
Laugh At Life, Own Your Mind
“Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”
- Alan Watts
We all want it
Success, fun, creativity, happiness - That effortless feeling of gliding that comes when you’re on a roll and everything seems to fall into place…
We want to have an unshakeable spirit of enjoyment that others admire.
But there’s a problem…
Gloom
It lurks in your news feed, inbox, and timeline. It can poison your perspective and dampen your day.
Gloom will cast a shadow over the good and draw attention to the bad. It seeks to make a home in your mind and invite in stress, anxiety, and overwhelm.
How does gloom affect you?
Mental weight
Daily monotony, endless responsibility, and the news of the world can add so much weight to your journey that forward progress slows to a halt. The desire for growth and joy remain, but the load can feel too heavy to carry.
Of all the possible approaches to carrying this weight, only one approach will work consistently and sustainably…
Make it lighter
Problems are real. There’s no denying that.
But the weight that we feel is added by our mind. Does this mean that the weight isn’t real? No, it’s real too, but it’s something that we can control.
The mental weight of a problem is determined by how long we spend looking at it and the way in which we view it. If we learn to adjust these dials, we learn to adjust the weight of our problems.
As an example…
Filmmakers have manufactured this mental weight effect for years.
Let’s say: There is a ghost.
But that alone is not scary enough. So the filmmaker adds dimmed lighting, an eerie filter, and creepy music.
Aaaand now, it can create a fear response in the body.
This is what the mind does with our problems. But what if we could train it to add different effects instead?
As an alternative…
Let’s again say: There is a ghost.
But this time we’ll bring the light up, ditch the eerie filter, and set it to the tune of “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men
Would there still be a ghost? Yes.
Would you still be sitting there with sweaty palms, a racing heartbeat, and a clenched b-hole? Probs not.
Laugh at life
When we learn to view life through a lighter lens, our problems become lighter too. Some become easier to carry, some we can cast aside, and others float away all on their own.
As we build resilience, we become more creative, energetic, and generous. We find humor in unlikely places and create fun where there was none.
We squeeze more juice out of life, and share it with others.
Own your mind
Creating such a mindset is of course more than a single decision; it is a daily practice.
It is purposefully exposing ourselves to perspectives, ideas, and inspiration that supports our cause.
It is learning to seek out the good, but also to stare directly at the bad and adjust our interpretation.
We must learn to watch our thoughts and carefully curate the content we consume.
Enter LALOYM
“Laugh at life, own your mind” is a mantra that I apply in my own life and to all creative work produced as part of the LALOYM project. While there is plenty of science to back the power of perspective and the value of levity, the focus of this project is on the art of discovering that value.
It is my sincere hope that anyone who listens to LALOYM music or follows the content will be entertained and inspired to bring this same approach to their own life.
Some of the content may be instructive, some may be thought-provoking, and some may seem completely nonsensical. Hopefully the net result is fun and can provide a little spark of levity whenever one is needed.