Laughing can seem like a minor thing, something we do without really thinking much about it.
A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy. – Thomas Carlyle
Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born.
Here are some ways to start:
Smile More:
Smiling is the beginning of laughter and like laughter, it’s contagious. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Instead of looking down at your phone, look up and smile at people you pass in the street, the person serving you a morning coffee, or the co-workers you share an elevator with. Notice the effect this has on others.
Here are three more cues you can use to remember to smile:
- Smile as you step into the shower.
- Smile every time you’re about to enter your home.
- Smile every time you open the refrigerator.
Count your blessings:
Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.
When you hear laughter, move toward it:
Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”
Spend time with fun, playful people:
These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Even if you don’t consider yourself a lighthearted, humorous person, you can still seek out people who like to laugh and make others laugh. Every comedian appreciates an audience.
Bring humor into conversations:
Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”
Find a Little Kid You Can Hang Out With:
Little kids haven’t forgotten how to laugh yet. They’ll laugh at just about anything, and there are few things more infectious than a little kid’s laugh.
Try Laughter Meditation:
One of these is laughter meditation. Do the following:
- Find a comfortable place to sit.
- Bring your attention to your breath and release all tension from your body.
- Bring up an image of something you find really funny. Once you have the feeling of laughter, spread it throughout your body, from the top of your head, to the tip of your toes.
- Bring up another image that makes you laugh. Continue spreading the feeling of laughter throughout your body.
Jokes:
Jokes are great for laughing. Everyone likes some jokes. And perhaps, there’s no such person who wouldn’t laugh of this or that joke. And if you listen to the jokes you like, it’s a good way to smile and laugh more. This will help you to forget at least for a short time about your life problems, and become more positive.
Improve your sense of humor:
Put humor on your horizon: Find a few simple items, such as photos, greeting cards or comic strips, that make you chuckle. Then hang them up at home or in your office. Keep funny movies, books or comedy albums on hand for when you need an added humor boost. Look online at joke websites. Go to a comedy club.
Laugh at yourself: Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take yourself less seriously is to talk about times when you took yourself too seriously.
Consider trying laughter yoga: In laughter yoga, people practice laughter as a group. Laughter is forced at first, but it can soon turn into spontaneous laughter.
Share a laugh: Make it a habit to spend time with friends who make you laugh. And then return the favor by sharing funny stories or jokes with those around you.
Remember funny things that happen: If something amusing happens or you hear a joke or funny story you really like, write it down or tell it to someone else to help you remember it.
Knock, knock: Browse through your local bookstore or library’s selection of joke books and get a few rib ticklers in your repertoire that you can share with friends.
Know what isn’t funny: Don’t laugh at the expense of others. Some forms of humor aren’t appropriate. Use your best judgment to discern a good joke from a bad, or hurtful, one.
Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them: Look for the humor in a bad situation, and uncover the irony and absurdity of life. When something negative happens, try to find a way to make it a humorous anecdote that will make others laugh.
Find your inner child: Pay attention to children and try to emulate them—after all, they are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing at ordinary things.
Deal with your stress: Stress can be a major impediment to humor and laughter, so it’s important to get your stress levels in check. One great technique to relieve stress in the moment is to draw upon a favorite memory that always makes you smile—something your kids did, for example, or something funny a friend told you.
Laughter Quotes
“If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.” – Robert Frost
Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. – Bill Cosby
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. – Billy Joel
It is impossible for you to be angry and laugh at the same time. Anger and laughter are mutually exclusive and you have the power to choose either. – Dr.Wayne Dyer
“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”- Bill Cosby
Laugh as much as you Breathe and Love as long as you live. – Johnny Depp
Force yourself to laugh at something, but do it in a big, forced laugh and make it as weird as possible. You will start laughing for real. I promise. It works every time. – Lauren Kesseler Doyle
You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants. – Stephen King
