A Sense of Humor is the Best way to Get Through Life
If you can find the humor in most situations, you will be better off
A good sense of humor will get you through almost any situation. Life is not that serious, every day, all of the time. You don’t have to be a drama queen to get through your day. Everything is not a tragedy in the making.
For most people, if you can see the humor in a situation you can reverse the negative flow of emotions through your brain. Unless you are a first responder or a brain surgeon who has to make life-deciding decisions on a daily basis, most situations always have a comical side to them.
If you are stuck in a traffic jam where you measure your progress through how many red lights it takes to make it through the intersection, you have several choices. As a former professional driver, I have been in many situations like this.
You can get mad and stressed out, repeatedly honking your horn and cursing the drivers ahead of you, who are also bogged down in the traffic and send your blood pressure skyrocketing.
You can try to figure out what is causing the traffic jam and spin your mental wheels calculating how long it will take you to get past whatever is causing the traffic jam. They will be spinning faster than your actual car wheels anyway.
Or you can just bust out laughing at the sheer absurdity of it all. Where do all these cars come from? Time slows down and every inch of progress becomes an achievement.
You are trapped in the belly of the beast, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. So laugh or cry, get mad and have a heart attack, or just go with the flow.
Sooner or later, it will be over, and one less ulcer to worry about.
Nobody ever knows, where it comes and where it goes. Usually, the police have managed to get the stalled car or fender-bender accident remnants cleared away long before you ever find out what caused it, and they just brusquely wave you on.
Keep moving, nothing to see here, let’s go, let’s go. That is what always happens anyway, so why act surprised?
You can start cheering the incremental advances, in a sarcastic manner, because that helps relieve the tension and de-stresses you.
Whoa, only six red lights instead of seven to make it through the last intersection. Now that’s what I call progress!
Just by busting out laughing at the sheer absurdity of being trapped in a metallic lockdown, lost in a concrete jungle, trapped just as surely in an asphalt maze as a mastodon or saber tooth tiger in the La Brae tar pits.
By making laughter a priority, you will be healthier and happier. If you have passengers in your car, you can make jokes to relieve the tension for everybody.
Stress and tension are not good for people or other living things. Point out the humor of the situation and make your traffic jam a shared, unexpected, inexplicably funny experience with everybody in the car.
Control freaks have the most problems in situations like this, where they are helpless to alter the situation. Life is not always a bed of roses, but embrace the bouquet rather than curse the thorns.
Scientific studies have shown that people who can find humor in any situation are healthier and happier for it.
Laughter increases the oxygen flow to your heart and lungs and increases the endorphin level in your brain. It is a sure cure to release stress.
Sometimes the sheer absurdity of a situation can overwhelm you. Like being put on endless holds trying to call a doctor or business, only to have them finally answer and your phone inexplicably drops the call. Whoops!
These are common situations in life, so why not just take them in stride? You will end up being healthier and happier. You will live longer, be able to relax and enjoy all these minor inconveniences, and be happy. And isn’t that what life is all about?
Don’t worry, be happy.
Everything is not a crisis. Take things in stride. We are all connected…