The Happy Human

By Scott Williams

The Happy Human is the new book from Australia's Laughter Specialist Scott Williams. Exploring the proven link between humour and better health this book is a 'must read' for anyone who wants to generate more laughter in their life!  With stress management one of the big-ticket items for companies today Scott Williams is right on target with this book, delivering a blend of relevant and timely information that encourages the reader to look at life from a different perspective.  Learning how to convert some of the 'negative energy' in our lives into positive pressure that can propel us forward.  "A sense of humour is as vital to our mental wellbeing as breathing is to our physical wellbeing" Scott says.  "In the book readers discover how they can begin to break down laughter limiting behaviours that we all develop on the road from childhood to adulthood.  These behaviours stifle our ability to 'sense humour' and contribute to a loss of joy in our lives".   It's a vital message that's loaded with laughter and the most fun you can have while learning.The book is wise and witty, intelligent and hilarious, therapeutic and fun. Humorously capturing the experiences of that 'sometimes not so little' voice inside our heads brings a fresh understanding to the human condition. It is insightful and brilliantly educational, helping people to understand that while genetics and circumstance play a role in shaping our personal inner disposition, our thoughts and actions – those things we do have some control over, can make a huge difference in determining whether we favour a negative or positive bias towards life. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scott Williams
• Release date: Jan 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994409904

Scott Williams

Scott Williams is a popular choice of corporations in the all important keynote / motivational presenter category.  His thought provoking and highly entertaining keynote “The Happy Human” receives rave reviews from all business channels.  The presentation explores in detail the proven link between humour and better health. It’s back to the basics of what makes us truly happy and over the hour there are many ‘lightbulb’ moments Scott’s audience experiences. “The Happy Human” is a truly unique book also that delivers a vital and timely message for all of us.  

Book preview

Chapter 1

In pursuit of a positive experience

Glad you made it!

The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.

MARK TWAIN

What were the odds of YOU being born on this planet? Believe it or not a doctor by the name of Ali Binazir (MD M.Phil) attempted to work this out based on factors such as the age of your parents, the probability of the two of them meeting each other, the odds of going on a second date, the odds of getting married, the odds of conception and finally the odds of birth.

In the end the probability of your arrival worked out to be the astronomical figure of about 1 in 10 to the power of 2,650,000. That’s a 10 with 2,650,000 zeros after it! Put another way the odds of it happening were about the same as two million people each being asked to pick a number between one and one trillion and all two million people picking the same number!

Now with odds like that stacked against you, you would have to say the fact you are here means you were either incredibly lucky or you were put here for a reason. A person with a nihilistic view of life would say there is no rhyme or reason to a person’s life and it carries no intrinsic value. Then again, your very existence against such overwhelming odds presents a compelling argument in the opposite - that your presence here on earth must be something more than mere happenstance. The creator of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy Douglas Adams said the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything was 42. That sounds as logical as saying that we are here for no reason at all. So, if we assume we are here for a reason, the next logical question to ask would be

why are we here?

That is a deeply philosophical question and not one that has a single, clearly defined answer. Rather it has 7.24 billion answers, one for each individual on the face of the planet (a number that is currently increasing by 155 people per minute or 82 million per year). Each of us see life differently, depending on our vantage point. Since we will never agree on why we are here let us change the question. Let us simply accept the fact that we are here and instead ask

what do we want OUT of life?

When people are asked this question the most common response is to be healthy and happy. That is an excellent answer because it gives equal priority to both sides of our humanity. Healthy refers to our physical state of being while happy refers to our mental state of being. These two human states are intrinsically linked and each one plays an important role in the success or failure of the other. Neglecting either one will cause a deterioration in both. The opposite also holds true. There is growing evidence to support the belief that

healthy people are generally happier and happy people are generally healthier.

When we improve ourselves physically we feel mentally stronger and when we are on top of our game mentally, we feel physically stronger and more readily able to cope with the pressure that comes with life. It makes sense.

FAST FACT: Laughter is contagious. When you hear laughter move towards it. Even if you do not know what generated the laughter you will still derive some positive benefit simply hearing the sound.

If we are serious about living a healthy, happy life it is vitally important that we dedicate time to improving both our physical and mental states of being. Since both states are two sides of the same coin you have a choice of starting point - improve yourself physically and gain some mental benefit or improve yourself mentally and gain some physical benefit. It doesn’t really matter where you start, what’s important is that you start - NOW.

The incidence of burnout from mental stress and physical exhaustion in our society is increasing alarmingly (a physiological change) and in response our overall level of happiness is diminishing (a psychological change). One way we, as individuals can combat these undesirable changes is to better understand the power of influence.

Growth in our personal happiness can be achieved by increasing the amount of positive influence we surround ourselves with on a daily basis.

POSITIVE INFLUENCE: a desirable or constructive effect on the character, development or behaviour of someone or something.

In our quest to attract greater positive influence what we are looking to try and do is connect with people, places, things, thoughts and precepts that bring about a desirable or constructive change in our lives. Something that will leave us better, not worse for the experience. Positive influences are all around us but often get overlooked because so many negative influences bombard our lives daily. If we do not make a determined effort to offset this onslaught of negative influence we can become so weighed down in negativity that we start asking ourselves

what is the point of anything?

We are living in a world where it is easy to become unhappy and unhealthy. We run the very real risk of developing a bias towards life that is negative from the outset. By becoming more consciously aware of what influences us we can begin to recognise and distinguish the good from the bad, embracing the positive influences and rejecting those influences that seek to compromise and corrupt our thought process. It will take some time and practice to develop this influential discernment but great reward awaits those who can harness the power of positive influence.

Influence exists to affect change.

It is estimated that you will meet 100,000 people in your lifetime and each of these people will have personality traits and behaviours that have been shaped by influencers. These people also have the potential to shape and influence you, in either a positive or negative way. The longer you are in the presence of another person the greater the influence that person can have on you. Therefore it is important to choose carefully who you allow into your life and who, for your own peace of mind, you keep at a safe distance. This rule applies to family just as much as it does to friends. They may be a relative but that does not mean they do not have the potential to be toxic.

Without doubt the strongest influencers in our lives, both positive and negative, are our fellow human beings.

Parents usually wield the greatest influence over our lives because they interact with us from birth. Parental influence is normally based in love and the connection stimulates a child’s growth in a positive way. A child needs to know that their parents love and accept them, unconditionally. Children who feel unloved and unaccepted by a parent can carry emotional baggage and separation anxiety with them for life, and can be reflected in their own parental roles. Other circumstances, like education and environment can impact childhood development. A British television documentary made in the 1960’s for Granada Television set out to prove this and in doing so it became one of the most acclaimed television programs in history.

THE 7 UP SERIES

Give me a boy until he is seven and I will give you the man.

ATTRIBUTED TO ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

The documentary 7 Up commenced filming in 1964 and followed the lives of fourteen seven year old children from varying socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. These children provided us with a rare insight into the power of influence. The idea behind the series, directed by Michael Apted, was to catch a glimpse of what the young adult in the year 2000 might look like, from the shop steward to the executive. It was believed that the class system that existed in England in 1964 had the ability to shape how children viewed the world and to a large degree, influence their future. The extraordinary series has revisited the children every seven years since 1964 and continues to document their personal and professional progress. The latest update, ’56 up’ aired around the world in 2013 as the original participants reached 56 years of age.

Because the program has followed the lives of these seven year olds for five decades we have a unique ability to look back through the lens of time and witness first hand the influences that shaped the lives of these children and ultimately contributed to the success or failure of their dreams and aspirations. If you have never watched this fascinating series I would recommend logging onto Amazon and ordering the DVD collection.

The 7 Up series confirms the strong connection between the influences we experience in childhood and where we find ourselves as adults. However, since the 1960’s, and particularly from the 1980’s onwards, we have seen an increase in what has been termed ‘social mobility’. Social mobility is the ability for an individual to move upward through the social system, no longer restricted to the social class they were born into. Whilst a good education has and always will be an important factor in professional success, greater opportunities exist today for anyone who is prepared to work hard and develop a set of skills that today’s marketplace requires. Dream big, and then put in the hard yards. In the end nothing beats persistence.

Sharing some stage time with Sir Edmund Hillary.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

CHINESE PHILOSOPHER LAOZI (604 BC - 531 BC)

I once had the privilege of speaking with Sir Edmund Hillary. I asked him if there was ever a time when he felt that he and Tenzing Norgay would not reach the summit of Mount Everest. His reply was a simple yet powerful example of what I am talking about.

Hillary: I tried not to look at the summit because I knew if I did so doubt of whether I could make it would creep into my mind. Instead I looked down at my feet and watched as I put one foot in front of the other. I’d trained to do that, and I knew that if I just kept doing that eventually I would reach where I was going.

Many of the world’s most successful Olympians have made it to the top of their chosen field by making small, incremental improvements to their performance over time.

They lived a life of directed purpose.

This is the not-so-secret weapon in most success stories. Directed purpose simply means having a vision of what it is you want to achieve and clearly mapped out steps on how to get there. It will take discipline, but over time because of your diligence and persistence, the task of pursuing happiness becomes easier. One day you will discover