Sometimes all we need to make everything better is a good laugh. It’s remarkable, really, how a good joke or a funny happenstance can completely change the energy of how we’re feeling. One minute things can seem grim and frustrating, and the next everything shifts.
It’s easy to find reasons to feel stressed out. But what about looking for reasons to laugh instead?
We frequently get told we need to worry. Indeed, many of us were taught that it’s the responsible thing for adults to do. Worry about paying bills and credit scores and saving for retirement. Worry about our appearance and whether we’re spending enough time exercising. Worry about our jobs and careers. Worry about our families. You know the drill.
But what’s the point? All that worrying doesn’t lead anywhere, except towards more worrying. Sure, we want to take care of our responsibilities, but we don’t need to worry about them.
Laughter breaks the cycle of worrying. The more we look for the humor in life, the more we find it, and the more we realize we can relax about the whole thing.
Make a point to find the laughs in your day. For some people, that’s easy—but some of us might be a little out of practice. That’s okay!
Instead of watching the news at night, watch a funny show or a comedy special. Spend more time with the people in your life who make you laugh. Take time to appreciate the absurd. With a little perspective (and time), even difficult events in your life might start to seem pretty funny. Comedy often stems from tragedy, after all.
Above all else, don’t take yourself too seriously. There’s no reason to do so, and you’ll have much more fun and more joy if you don’t.
Little kids understand this intuitively. They instinctively know how to be free and at ease, and bubble over with laughter! We can learn from them, follow their lead (as the Bible famously teaches), and remember how to be that way ourselves.
What a wonderful way to live!