Laughter is beneficial physically, emotionally, or socially. Regular laughter can help improve mood, manage stress, improve cardiovascular health, reduce pain, and strengthen relationships and bonds. People who respond to adversity with humor tend to be more resilient and more likely to successfully deal with stressors later in life. You can choose to see the humorous side of complicated situations and misfortunes. Try different strategies to make yourself laugh so you can find a strategy that works for you.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making Others Laugh
Step 1. Use other people's laughter to trigger your own
Laughter is contagious due to imitation (mirroring). When you see and listen to other people's laughter, your copycat neurons start working in certain ways that help you understand the emotions the laughing person is feeling. That then triggers you to start laughing. You'll find it easier to laugh when other people chime in and the jokes become more and more entertaining.
Imitation can even be so powerful that there is no need for a joke to stimulate your brain. You can try watching videos or listening to recordings of babies laughing for no apparent reason. You must have noticed that you started smiling to yourself
Step 2. Share funny videos
Watching a funny show, movie, or clip is a great way to spark a laugh, but its effectiveness decreases the more you watch it. After watching a few times, you may notice that, although you still acknowledge the humor in the video, you're not laughing anymore. You can refresh the video again by showing it to others. Your anticipation of other people's laughter will make you laugh.
- You'll notice that, instead of watching a video clip, you may actually be watching the person you're showing the video to. The audience reaction you've anticipated, instead of the video itself, is now the source of your laughter.
- Free video sharing sites like YouTube are an easily accessible source of funny video clips.
Step 3. Tell jokes to make other people laugh
Memorize a few jokes so you're ready to crack a joke any time. Different types of humor will attract different people. So memorize different types of jokes to make sure you're ready to make other people laugh, whatever the situation.
Comic strips and joke books are great sources for finding a wide variety of jokes. You can also search for lots of jokes online
Step 4. Take a funny face or action photo of you and your friends
Consider wearing a costume or doing something really weird while being photographed. You'll surely notice that posing for a photo is just as funny as the photo itself.
If you don't feel like taking pictures, use photo editing apps or software to turn old photos into funny ones
Step 5. Write and sing a parody of a popular song
People tend to find the unexpected funny. You can take advantage of this by tweaking something that a lot of people are already familiar with, like a popular song, to make a surprise. Search for song lyrics and replace some keywords in the lyrics. The next time you hear the song with friends, you can sing along to the song with your own version of the lyrics.
You can find parodies of music video clips on YouTube and other free video sharing sites
Method 2 of 3: Laughing At Yourself
Step 1. Tell an embarrassing story
Self-embarrassing humor puts others at ease and helps you feel more comfortable. It is especially useful in stressful situations. In addition to the mood-lightening effect that laughter has, you allow others to sympathize with you because shyness is something that everyone can understand.
Think back to when you fell or said something wrong. Such misfortunes were common enough that everyone could understand them
Step 2. Relive the embarrassing incident with the people who were there at the time
Reminiscing about the funny moments you had together shows that you are not too serious and open to other funny interpretations. It will reduce tension and open up perspectives for others.
When choosing funny moments to remember, consider events with unexpected endings. The discrepancy between expectations and reality is generally considered funny
Step 3. Study your life
Point of view is the key to laughing at yourself. Realize that you are as silly as anyone else. You also have irrational beliefs and biases, and strange habits and traditions.
If you're having trouble identifying funny things you believe in, try making a list of your fears, even the smallest things. Most likely you will come across some unfounded fears. Are you scared of going to the attic alone? Have you ever felt very alert after watching a scary movie for fear of the danger that awaits you?
Method 3 of 3: Laughing at the Situation
Step 1. Have fun with the absurd
Acknowledge the absurdity of life. These are events that are essentially meaningless, but are often associated with emotional energy. Think of a time when you got into an argument about something that didn't really make sense, maybe over what to eat for dinner or who was the best superhero of all time.
- “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” is a great example of absurdity. If you don't like reading, you can watch Disney's “Alice in Wonderland” movie.
- If you're having a hard time finding the absurd in your life, try to make it. You can invite friends to discuss absurd about anything.
Step 2. Find funny people who have the same sense of humor as you
Surround yourself with funny people who will add a sense of humor to your everyday life. People with the same sense of humor tend to satisfy each other's sense of humor and increase the humor level in life.
If by any chance your sense of humor differs from the sense of humor of the people you meet frequently, find a comedian that you find funny. You can watch the videos online or on comedy shows. It will also provide you with funny material to share with others in your life who may find it funny too
Step 3. Change your mindset when faced with a bad situation
A stressful situation can be diluted by changing the point of view. To do so, try to get out of the situation. Pretend to play the role of an outsider observing what's happening. Tragic circumstances can seem comical when the perception of real danger is cast aside. Taking into account the perceptions of outsiders, you will make the danger seem okay.
If you're having trouble getting out of the situation, try to think about what could be worse. Then, try to think of various absurd possibilities that could make the situation worse. It will give you a new perspective and lighten your mood
Step 4. Confront the tension and discomfort
You may just want to get through an uncomfortable situation quickly, but taking a moment to acknowledge an awkward social situation is a pretty big chance for humor. Making a simple comment like, “That's awkward,” will reduce tension and create an unexpectedly cheerful atmosphere.
It's a good idea to refer to your own discomfort, unless you're quite familiar with the people around you. People who have social anxiety will not appreciate your efforts to draw people's attention to their discomfort
Tips
- If you can't find anything funny in your life, watch funny videos on YouTube.
- Always carry a joke book.
- Save funny videos in your favorites list so you can access them easily in the future.
Warning
- Your attempts to make other people laugh may not always be successful. Don't let your heart hurt.
- Some jokes may be inappropriate in certain situations. So you have to be wise.
