Reframing Your Life to Regain Perspective, Levity, and Joy Through Creativity
How I Learned to Laugh It Off?
I spent almost 20 years of my life stuck. Even though the practicalities of my world shot forward – I was a successful creative professional, I had great kids, I bought a house and built a stable life – my perspective on who I was, was mired in a quagmire of self-loathing, anger, and jealousy with a healthy dose of self-pity. I wasn’t happy, and I didn’t know why.
Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can. – Shawn Anchor
Two Things Helped Me Change
First, I started doing a diary comic with my partner in love and life, John Hazard. The simple act of looking for something funny to write about every day shifted my perspective.
Then, as we got braver and, in a moment of “we need a comic,” we started to look at our problems through a comic lens, we realized that some of the best material was our darkest. It makes sense. That’s what has this biggest flip when it comes to shifting from dark to light—the biggest emotional bang for your comic buck.
But something else happened. The act of laughing at our problems— finding the funny in our pain— stripped away some of the focus on why we were angry. It took us out of our “I’m right” headspace and helped us look at both sides of the story.
What makes a problem funny is what makes it true and ridiculous at the same time.
But when you’re busy being hurt, angry, or sad, you’re blind to everything else. The comics forced us both to see things from other perspectives. And boy was that powerful.
We had problems, but as we articulated them in this way, things shifted between us. Using our creative selves, we were able to finally hear each other instead of being stuck in the beginning. And we started to literally laugh off some of our issues. By creating comics, we were shifting ourselves and our relationships toward positivity.
Positivity doesn’t just change the contents of your mind… It widens the span of possibilities that you see. –Barbara Fredrickson
But the comic is just where it starts. In January of 2024, I started training as a career and life coach through the ICA.
As I learned the tools of coaching, I saw how many connections there were between making comics and coaching. That’s where the Laugh It Off model coaching model was born.
Laugh It Off is a Framework to Enable Creative Professionals to Actualize Their Creative Dreams
Creative professionals use their craft and creativity in their professions and their careers. The Laugh It Off model, while deeply indebted to the ICA FlipIt model, has been designed to relate to creative professionals by speaking their proverbial language.
Like FlipIt, its core goal is to enable a changed perspective. But Laugh It Off can be used as an overarching coaching framework with on-the-stop exercises creatives can use on the fly. And it has the added bonus of the dopamine rush of a smile.
The Laugh It Off model allows creative professionals to access their creative instincts and actualize their possibilities. The tenets of creativity, including storytelling and comedic action, can unleash and empower creative flow and allow them to become grounded in who their client knows they want to be.
While unique in its methodology, TheLaugh It Off model borrows from other paradigms, including positive psychology, narrative therapy, and motivational interviewing.
When to Use Laugh It Off? Follow the 4 P’s
Personal Sense of Self: We are our own worst enemies.
Creative professionals spend so much of their lives trying to make things perfect.
They don’t want to admit we are ever less than that ideal. Looking at the parts of
our body, our psyche, and our soul that are self-described as “bad” is often near impossible without self-loathing, fear, and shame.
Humor can be that spoonful of sugar that safely allows a client to reflect on the messier parts of their brains. By reframing problems using the LAUGH method, they can defuse negative self-talk and other factors that cloud judgment, helping individuals gain clarity, perspective, and the confidence to be more creative in their jobs, their personal relationships, and their passion projects.
Professional Careers: We can’t see the forest from the trees at work.
Some of us are lucky enough to have jobs we love. Many of us don’t. And even if we love our work, the workplace can be fraught with interpersonal emotional triggers and organizational landmines. It’s hard to see this from any other perspective except that it is grave and serious.
Because a job is a person’s source of income (their literal lifeline) -it has its own weight. So, whether it’s a promotion or a better relationship with their team, developing strong collaborative partners or reframing problems, or dealing with imposter syndrome creative professionals need a special sort of help to sort out what they really want and develop creative path to get there.
Private Lives: We’ve lost that loving feeling.
Work-life balance can be difficult for creative professionals in part because they are so passionate about their work. Work problems have a halo effect on people’s outside lives. By working with a creative professional’s core creativity, the Laugh It Off method can help strengthen client’s relationships by teaching them how to be aware and mitigate the way their life relationships are being affected by their creative work roadblocks – like creative blocks, workaholic tendencies or imposter syndrome anxiety fall out for start.
Passion Projects: We’ve misplaced our creative mojo.
Many creative professionals long to pursue passions that don’t pay the bills. Finding time for art for art’s sake is never easy within a creative profession’s rigorous and all-consuming requirements. Work is a beast that wants to eat creative professionals (and their passions) alive in two ways—both by the sheer volume and by how it opens them up to constant creative judgment.
As client starts to unpack all this, they can’t help but laugh – and when they do, that’s when the magic happens.
Creativity = Problem Solving
I’ve been a working creative professional for my entire career and life. I truly believe that if you can unleash your creative instincts—and all creative professionals have them— you can be successful in all areas of your life. And this is true whether your goal is to write a novel or climb the corporate ladder in a global marketing firm.
How to Use the Laugh It Off Workplace Coaching Model?
This model is a powerful tool that enables creative minds to reach their potential through a 5-step process.
LLetting Go & Finding Levity. |
The first step is to let go of the misconception that the only way to see the problem is through the heaviness of the problem. Looking for the humor of the situation forces you to explore it from other angles. Asking questions like, “Is there anything someone else might think was funny here?” “If this were a comic, what would the punchline be?” “Is there anything about this that makes you smile?” “What things make you smile?” (Sometimes introducing the idea of happiness –even if it’s unrelated – is enough to shift perspective!) Shifting a client’s mind from heavy negative emotions clears the way for them to see new possibilities |
This aligns with ICF Marker 5 (Creating Awareness), which emphasizes the importance of creating awareness and encouraging the client to explore new perspectives by letting go of limiting beliefs. It also connects to Marker 2 (Establishing the Coaching Agreement), as letting go is often part of the process of defining what the client wants to achieve in the session. |
AAcknowledge where you are. |
I firmly believe that everyone knows in their heart what they want from life, a relationship, or a career. Being able to
acknowledge what a client wants is hard. But it gets easier once they’ve cleared the negative way. Then, it’s possible for them to face challenges and successes without judgment Acknowledging includes taking a hard look at problems without shame, guilt, or self-deprecation. It also includes the sometimes difficult act of recognizing growth, success, and other positives. |
This connects to ICF Marker 6 (Designing Actions), as it involves recognizing the client’s emotions,
challenges, and achievements, which is crucial for effective coaching. It also relates to Marker 3 (Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client), as acknowledging and accepting what the client wants fosters a trusting and open relationship. |
UUnderstand your core values. |
Digging deeper using humor and empathy can help a client explore what they now see as their truth in a non-threatening way. This can allow them to get clarity around their core values. To better understand, clients will be asked to engage in creative exploration using the creative tools they want to use in their art. For example, we might:
Clients will be asked to participate in whatever creative activity feels authentic to their inner creative spirit. |
This reflects ICF Marker 7 (Planning and Goal Setting), which focuses on encouraging the client to explore deeper insights and gain clarity on their values and desires. Additionally, it ties into Marker 4 (Coaching Presence), as understanding requires the coach to be fully present and adaptable, helping the client uncover their truth. |
GGather the goodies. |
Unblocking a client’s creative self releases a flow of ideas, self-love, respect for yourself and others, and all the other positive pieces to your life’s puzzle. Once that fire hose is uncapped, it’s time to look at that flow and put it to use. Acting on insights isn’t always easy. However, through support, clients can learn to have confidence in their creative instincts and insights to make the choices that will purposefully move them forward toward the life they want. |
This corresponds with ICF Marker 9 (Managing Progress and Accountability), where the client is supported in identifying and leveraging their strengths and resources to achieve their goals. It also connects to Marker 8 (Creating Actions), as gathering insights and ideas leads to actionable steps that move the client forward. |
HHarness creative joy. |
Once a client has their creative goodies in place, that’s when clients can start to find and feel the happiness, of one’s life. Experiencing joy, when a client’s been burdened with the heaviness of living in the shadow of negative self-talk and perceived problems isn’t always easy. This step acknowledges this process and helps them sustain their positive momentum. |
This is in line with ICF Marker 10 (Promoting Learning and Growth), which promotes celebrating progress and sustaining momentum by embracing joy and fulfillment in the process. It also relates to Marker 1 (Meeting Ethical Guidelines and Professional Standards), as harnessing joy and promoting positive outcomes is part of the ethical commitment to the client’s well-being. |
Laugh It Off Is Empowerment
What success looks like is up to our clients. All a coach can do is be the thinking partner who allows their clients to get out of their own way. Like a slide in Chutes and Ladders, Laugh It Off fast-tracks creative professionals to find that space where their creativity can shine. And like the bright beacon it is, it elevates them to their best creative life.