Being funny wasn’t a career choice growing up, it was my way out of situations; a way to survive another day.
Tracy Morgan
For the past few weeks I’ve been intrigued by humor. What makes us laugh? Why do we smile? Is it possible to gauge how funny a person is?
My research stopped for a week while I took a deep dive into another subject — positive aging. But one of the interesting connections between the two subjects is that positive aging includes being able to take yourself less seriously. It includes laughter alone and with others as part of a long life.
Laughter helps us get through the bad storms, protecting us from the worst of them.
Case in point about being funny
Yesterday I spent time selling cookies with my daughter’s girl scout troop. We had a prime location inside the entryway of a grocery store. An older man walked in and struck up a conversation with an employee. The entire time, the older man spoke in rhymes.
After a while, he started talking with our troop, again all in rhymes. He entered the store smiling, saw another person, and did the same thing. On his way out, he stopped to chat with us one more time.
Before leaving he mentioned a few comments about growing old, but all in jest because it’s really the best.
I don’t know if the man has always been funny or had a good sense of humor. He clearly uses humor to brighten other peoples’ day.
As I drove home in the start of a blizzard, recalling how happy and funny he was made my drive a bit less stressful. See, that’s another thing humor does for us — ease tension and stress.
If you want to know what kind of sense of humor you have, check out Roni Jacobson’s article over on The Cut.
Being funny or having a sense of humor is a skill. You can learn to do it by taking an improv or acting class. Or, you can just start watching funny shows or comedians.
Remember to check the Challenges page. In the next few months, I’ll add one or two more for you to try!
