Bring Humor into Your Life

When was the last time you used your sense of humor? We all have one—whether it’s silly, zany, twisted, offbeat, or, like mine, on the sarcastic side—but it’s easy to let the demands of life hinder our ability to use it on a regular basis. If you haven’t used your sense of humor lately, I invite you to dust it off and bring it into your life today and every day this week. It’s not only a valuable coping skill in  trying to balance all of life’s demands, it’s also an essential aspect of a healthy mental outlook on life. A regularly used sense of humor will help you gain perspective so you can laugh when things don’t go as planned, helping you gain more balance.

If your sense of humor needs a kick start, I suggest you try one or more of the following ideas.

*Watch a funny movie. Some of my laugh-out-loud favorites are Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Date Night, The Hangover, The Wedding Singer, or any of the Toy Story movies.

Catch a funny movie like Date Night to tickle your funny bone.

*Go to a local comedy club or check out comedians on Netflix, YouTube, or Comedy Central. Jeff Dunham, Rita Rudner, classic Bill Cosby, and Paula Poundstone are some of my favorites.

Check out comedian Jeff Dunham, whose routine includes several puppets, such as Achmed, a deceased terrorist, pictured here.

*Catch a funny television show. Some of my favorite smartly funny shows currently are The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Big Bang Theory, and  How I Met Your Mother.

Watch funny TV shows like The Big Bang Theory to give you a smile.

*read a comic in the funny pages of your local newspaper or online. From classic Cathy to fabulous Far Side and everywhere in between, in just a few pictures they can put a smile on your face.

Try a comic strip such as Cathy for a quick laugh.