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Being funnier

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Being funnier

Bringing more humor to your every day.
 
If your friends and family tell you that you need to “lighten up,” what can you do to exercise your funny bone? Try these suggestions:

Being funnier

  • Laugh every day. Find a joke, a comic strip, or an absurd situation, or listen to a stand-up comedy routine, that makes you laugh.
  • Put a few things—the goofier and sillier the better—that make you smile on your desk, in your car, or wherever you will see them often.
  • Smile. For no reason. Just smile.
  • Do something silly once a day. No one has to know.
  • Laugh at yourself. You’re funnier than you think.
  • Notice what tickles your funny bone. Be honest—what makes you laugh? The Marx Brothers? Puns? Bloopers? British television? Knock-knock jokes? Stand-up? Sitcoms? Cartoons? Memorize some of what makes you laugh and repeat until people tell you you’ve lightened up enough.
  • Hang out with people who laugh. Laughter is contagious, and humor is a social phenomenon. It’s easier to experience mirth with other people.
  • At the end of the day, share one funny thing that happened that day with a family member or friend.
  • And finally, be sensitive to what is not funny. Don’t laugh at the expense of others, and don’t make yourself the butt of jokes with self-disparaging humor. Use good judgment to avoid hurtful humor.

Sources:
Stress Management, Mayo Clinic
Health, healing and the amuse system: Humor as survival training. McGhee, P. E.

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