I think alcohol is a joke, so today I thought I would tell a sort of a joke. Now I am not much of a joke teller, so it kind of suits me I think… And this one goes like this:
The old man and the joke
A man walks into a pub (strange joke for this website?) Why not, I can still go to the pub, I just choose not to drink!
So as I was saying – A old man walks into a pub and has a few drinks with his friends.
After a while, the man speaks up, and when he has everyone’s attention he proceeds to tell a great joke that nobody had heard before.
That was a Good Joke
Everyone laughed freely and happily for a couple of minutes, and decided that he was a good bloke, and he was welcome to come back any time!
Well, the same man entered the pub the next day, says G’day to everyone, and proceeds to tell a joke.
Everyone who remembered yesterday’s joke, thought this will be good, and listened eagerly for the joke of the day.
Well, the old man proceeded to tell the same joke as yesterday. And while there was some generous laughter, there was mostly silence and confusion.
Most people reasoned that he wasn’t to know the audience, and perhaps thought there were new people who hadn’t heard the joke before.
Have you heard that joke before?
When the same man walked into the pub the next day, and proceeded to tell the same joke again, people thought hang on! This is not right.
Someone finally spoke up, and told the man that he had told the same joke already. “Fair go Mate – tell us a different joke!”
After all, It actually was a bit strange to tell the same joke every day!
Nobody was going to laugh at a joke that they had already heard before, and even worse if he was going to try to tell the same joke every day.
In other words – Please don’t tell us that joke any more, it is no longer funny!
The man replied – what is so wrong with telling a funny story over and over again, it is still funny – right?
Same old joke
No way – we’ve heard that joke before….
So the man spoke up again: So why is it that when I tell a joke, you won’t laugh unless it is different?
But when you complain about all the bad things in your life, you go over and over the same old stuff, and expect more sympathy?
What is the moral of the story?
This is actually an interesting truth about human psychology and the way the brain works.
We crave something new and interesting all the time, and we are naturally wired to look for fun and laughter that we have all around us. And this sense of fun and adventure leads to a positive attitude when we are feeling good. But when it comes to dull and boring, we quickly see only the negative side, even though we are surrounded by good things in abundance.
Fine line between fun and boredom
When we hear a joke for the first time, our brain literally lights up with interest. When we hear a joke that is new and stimulating, we are more likely to react with fun and laughter. But when we recognise something that we have already heard before, we push it to the other end of the spectrum and call it dull or boring. Have you ever heard someone complaining how dull and boring everything is? Have you noticed that boredom can be followed by depression and lethargy?
Beware of negative thoughts
We need to beware of allowing our thoughts to slide to the negative. We should not allow ourselves to be held back by dull and boring, instead we can focus on maintaining our positive energy and look for adventure and excitement in life! The problem is that when we feel negative, we tend to run the same old stories over and over in our minds! Sometimes we just can’t seem to break free of the thing that hold us back, like an anchor, or shackles, or a glass ceiling, or whatever it is that gets us down.
Alcohol is a joke – Beware of the role alcohol plays in our life
The problem with negative thought patterns is that it makes it easier for alcohol to sneak into our daily routine. Alcohol can almost become a reward for negative thoughts. When we feel a bit depressed, it can seem like a great idea to cheer up with a couple of drinks. But the feeling never lasts, and when tomorrow comes around, it is very easy to have a couple more drinks and so the cycle continues. The problem is that this becomes a vicious cycle, and the only way to feel good is to drink more and more. This is how we become addicted to alcohol.
Do you need a break from alcohol?
Do you want to break free of the things that hold you back? If you want a break from alcohol, then that is a great place to start. Because as I always say, alcohol just acts like fun and happiness, but if you are not careful, it actually steals it all away from you!
If you want to learn more about how to take a break from alcohol, then give our private, self-paced, online course a try. CLICK HERE to get started.