 Self
Development Best Practices
Live, Love, Laugh
and Linguine
by Bevv Beirl
Published: February / March
2008
Linguine you say? Yes, linguine I say! Why? Because in
our effort to make sense of it all, we’ve lost the
impromptu, impetuousness, and fun of life. We’ve
dissected, analyzed, scrutinized and categorized
everything from laundry to love.
This vast sector of civilization has made it our mission
to understand everything. And we are not happy to merely
understand it; we must also control it. We’re a serious
lot and it’s time to lighten up, at least for the next
10 minutes.
February can be a month of contradicting emotions. It’s
the heart of winter and the month of heart. It’s cold,
even in Tampa Bay, yet warmed by Valentine messages. It
can feel laborious as we settle into our workaday
routines with vacations too far away. February is
definitely the time to think about linguine!
A self development column wouldn’t be complete without
spending time talking about living, loving and laughing.
Eating linguine can be pleasurable, too! Most of us go
through life with our sight on the future. We’re so busy
setting goals, getting ready for whatever, rushing to
meetings, soccer games, swim meets, that we forget to
breathe. We forget to smile, wink, or dip our toes in
the ocean. We forget to live.
It’s okay to plan for the future; however, living in the
present is the ingredient for a long life. If you’re
always looking forward to the next day, week, year,
promotion or opportunity, then you’re rushing toward the
end of an unfulfilled life.
We also forget to love. February is supposed to help us
remember, but alas, after the last chocolate is eaten
from the heart-shaped box, we have returned to our
hectic schedule and forgetting to say “I love you” to
the ones most important in our lives.
And laughing is much UNDERrated. Did you know that
laughing can relieve stress, increases the oxygen in
your bloodstream, lower your heart rate, and boost your
immune system according to several medical studies? As
children we laugh on the average of 400 times a day and
by the time we reach 35 we’re lucky to chuckle an
average of 15 times a day. The next time you find
yourself in an unpleasant situation saying something
like, “Someday I’ll look back and laugh about this”.
Stop! Laugh and let the natural endorphins save the day.
Developing the self is a balancing act and it can be
very challenging. It can also be fun. One might even
compare it to developing muscle and creating that
perfect physical profile. Any good personal trainer will
tell you that building muscle means stressing it with
resistant workouts followed with a day of resting it.
Any good life, success, or business coach will tell you
that creating a successful business and fulfilled life
will mean balancing every aspect of your life, including
vocational, emotional, physical, and spiritual.
As a martial artist, I learned many years ago that it’s
more important to know than it is to do. In other words,
we were taught many self-defense moves. We practiced
kicks, punches and deflections thousands of times;
however, our goal was to avoid ever having to execute
any of the moves in a real situation. We learned how to
breathe and to harness the inner power of chi or energy.
We learned how to empty our minds through meditation so
that we could experience all that lives around us. And
yes, we even learned that smiling while sparring was not
only fun, it confused the heck out of our opponent.
Oh, I almost forgot ---- what about linguine? Think of
it as your trigger for happiness. Every time you hear
the word, dine on the pasta, or delight in an artistic
arrangement on colored construction paper presented by
your young child, remember this silly column. Toss your
head back and give a deep chuckle or dainty giggle,
write a love note to your significant other, or make a
trip to Busch Gardens to enjoy the mischievous play of
the chimps. But whatever you do, lighten up, live, love,
and laugh.
Bevv Beirl is a successful businesswoman who has written
and spoken on human potential for over 25 years. Bevv is
also the editor and CEO of Bay Area Business Magazine
and can be reached at:
editor@BABM.com
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