Laughter is the best medicine, so the old saying goes, but reading the news headlines, it isn’t always the easiest medicine to get hold of.  Federal employees certainly haven’t seen much to laugh about recently.  Pay freezes, hiring freezes.  Furloughs and shutdowns.  Proposed budget cuts and benefits cuts.  Now we’ve had the news that the personal data of millions of current and former feds has been hacked and no one knows quite what to do about that or how to protect their credit rating and identity from theft.

But as Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell — keep going.”  (For the half dozen or so young federal employees out there, in case you didn’t cover this in history classes, Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Second World War (among other things).  OK, even in the current climate, federal employment certainly does not compare with the horrors of World War II, or any war, but this is still a good thought.  If you’re in a bad place, don’t stop and put down roots!  The only way to get past a difficult spot is to keep moving.

Of course, Mr Churchill also said, “I’ve taken more from alcohol than alcohol has taken from me,” so maybe he’s not the inspiration I really want to draw on here (again, for our younger audience, Mr. Churchill was known to be fond of a drop or two, or more, throughout the day. Every day).

At least it is summer, temperatures are warmer and daylight hours are longer, surely there are things to celebrate.  For instance, there’s that well-known July holiday — International Joke Day, July 1.  This is important to celebrate; after all, seven days without laughter makes one weak! Ba-dum-bum!  Summer also means big blockbuster movies and I see the newest installment in the Jurassic Park franchise was a big hit.  Q: What do Triceratops sit on? A: Their tricerabottoms! [Pause for laughter] … Hmm, tough room.  All right, you give it a try.  In honor of International Joke Day, I’d like to invite everyone to share their favorite joke in the Comments.

Of course, when speaking of the difficulties faced recently by federal employees, it can be harder to laugh, particularly since we seem to have little control over much of it.  But that doesn’t mean we have to give up.  There are still opportunities out there, if not as many as we’d like.  Take a look at the USAjobs.gov website. Talk to your manager about opportunities to develop skills or maybe even work on short-term assignments that can enhance your knowledge and abilities, so you’re ready when opportunities do open up.

Here at my agency (and probably others), we have the Leadership Succession Review (LSR) underway, to identify and help develop future leaders for the organization.  And if you’ve looked at Employee Survey results at all, you’ll know government agencies are in need of good leaders!

Management is a tough job (although not as tough as stand-up comedy), and while we all may grumble about it, we might want to consider stepping up and offering our own strengths and talents to assist, by becoming managers and contributing ourselves.  The point is to keep going, keep pushing along.  For those with enough time on the job and the financial means to do so, that may mean going right into the next phase of life — retirement.  And for those who have already retired — enjoy it, you earned it!  For those of us who haven’t reached that point yet, it may mean trying to find a few laughs throughout the day, and reminding ourselves that it’s not all bad, we still have the job and the pay and all the benefits (for now) that go with it.

Sometimes pushing on means just trying to encourage each other.  Remember that other old saying, “This too shall pass.”  And while we wait for that to happen, keep in mind this advice sometimes attributed to Franklin D Roosevelt, “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” 

When we do our jobs — and the federal employees I know are almost all attempting to do them well — we are doing something worthwhile.  So as summer really gets underway and we get ready for a long weekend, let’s remember that other famous July holiday, Independence Day, July 4th, a day when we celebrate ideals of liberty and freedom.

Q: Where did General George Washington keep his armies?

A:  Up his sleevies!

Ba-dum-bum! — Nancy Crosby

Nearly Useless Factoid:

By Michael O’Connell

In keeping with the spirit of International Joke Day — and since Mike Causey’s not around — allow me to substitute a Nearly Useless Joke for today’s NUF:

Q: What’s Irish and stay’s out all night?

A: Patio Furniture! — Paddy O’Furniture, get it?

OK, I’ll stick to the factoids from now on.

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