I was thinking about the importance of this today because often times running your own business can be solitary and also somewhat somber!<\/p>\n

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On a daily basis, your job is putting out fires, solving problems and trying to avoid potholes and sharp turns. So why is laughter so important when running your group home?<\/p>\n

Because laughter is part of the fuel and energy that God gave you to continue going on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

The average child laughs 150 times per day, but the average adult laughs only 3 times per day<\/u><\/strong>\u2026..I bet you that the average entrepreneur laughs only 3 times per week! And when you learn how to start a group home and you begin actually running your group home, care home or sober home. In fact, you are also going to be surrounded by people and employees who are often in dire circumstances which can often times bring you down. So what can you do about this?<\/p>\n

LAUGH!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember hearing a story of a lady who went to the doctor\u2019s office with a bad case of back pain. The doctor wound up prescribing her some medication\u2026.but only medication to reduce the symptom. He also told her to go out and rent and read every comedy she could find. Also, to watch or read those comedies every night before bed. 3 months later she walked into the doctor\u2019s office and he knew, right away, that something had changed. She was happy<\/strong>! It wasn\u2019t the pain pill that had caused the relief, it was the laughter. Laughter is the best medicine<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Look, when you are operating group homes you MUST find a way to find humor in your job on a daily basis. It is IMPERATIVE. I know a man with a disabled son and I would always admire how upbeat he was. His son had a severe case of tuberous sclerosis. To any outsider looking it, it most likely would be seen as quite sad. But you should have seen the father and the joy and laughter that he would always bring to the family and others around them. He would take his son to restaurants and throughout the community and would laugh when his son would do things. As a matter of fact, he didn\u2019t treat him any differently than his other children. He would laugh with him as well as at his expense over funny little things.<\/p>\n

Would some people look down on this? Yes! In fact, I may have been one of those people at first. But when you step back and watch him, you realize that his way of handling stress is without question the best! He wouldn\u2019t let this stress and sadness enter his home with him every night and let it chip away. He would simply laugh about things and have fun with it. Every day! At his own expense, at the expense of others and in general! He was always laughing and cracking jokes.<\/p>\n

This man has taught me a lot about life and especially about how to handle the stresses that come with operating care homes, group homes, sober homes, assisted livings and other \u201ctransitional\u201d homes. Mark my words: this business comes with plenty of issues (like all businesses do) so you need to find the humor in it on a daily basis! Remember this saying, \u201cLaughing all the way to the bank<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n

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