How to develop a sense of humor: 6 tips
A sense of humor is one of the most positive and appreciated psychological characteristics in general. After all, who has it very developed is able to find reasons for laughter almost in any context, simply by the ease with which he sees that comic side of life. In addition, fortunately it is something that can be acquired throughout life.
In this article we will focus on the theme of how to develop a sense of humor and apply it in our way of seeing life .
- Related article: "The 9 benefits of having a sense of humor"
How to develop a sense of humor?
The ease with which we develop a sense of humor depends in part on the context in which we grow. If extreme poverty and other forms of misery reign, it is more difficult, though not impossible or infrequent.
Knowing this is important because otherwise we can get to blame ourselves for not constantly smiling before the events that we are observing. Our mental processes do not depend only on oneself, but are linked to the stimuli that we are receiving.
That said, let's look at a series of tips to develop a sense of humor applying small changes to our habits and our philosophy of life .
1. Get used to adopting a distanced perspective
It may sound paradoxical, but to enhance the sense of humor, it is necessary a previous step in which we distance ourselves from ourselves, we adopt a neutral (or relatively neutral) perspective, and we observe what happens around us as if all this does not be part of the reality in which one lives.
What's the point? Well, know how to find humor in the most varied situations it is partly to know how to decompose reality into parts in order to draw connections between ideas in a way that breaks the schemes.
If we omit this analytical vision of reality, it is harder to lose the fear of not following blindly the social conventions and perform some other act or comment that leads to exposing oneself to a risk to appear eccentric. Which brings us to the next tip.
- Maybe you're interested: "The use of irony and humor in psychotherapy"
2. Learn not to be afraid of what they will say
Any person who shows a good sense of humor assumes the risk of not being funny and being like a strange person or saying things without meaning. It is inevitable, for example, to meet people who they will not understand a necessary reference to understand an improvised joke . To achieve this, it is good to work on maintaining good self-esteem and correct social skills.
Having a sense of humor and keeping it for oneself is fine, but it is better, and it develops faster, if it leads us to relate in a different way to others, externalizing it.
3. Learn to laugh at you
This is possibly the most important rule to enhance a sense of humor. Know how to joke about oneself it is fundamental, because it shows commitment and consistency with a philosophy of life based on the idea that practically nothing is solemn enough not to laugh at it in certain circumstances.
4. Culturize yourself
This is an aspect that many people overlook, but the quality of our sense of humor can be greatly benefited if we get used to reading and learning about different areas. Why? Because it's so much easier create funny and interesting connections between seemingly far away concepts each.
It should be remembered that one of the pillars of humor is to break expectations, go beyond what is considered normal and return having created associations that would not be expected at first but we can understand instantly. Therefore, culture allows us to navigate in a sea of knowledge in which if you know enough is possible to create jokes and funny comments from the most varied ideas.
5. Do not learn jokes
This is the apparently easy path that some people choose, believing that it will allow them to access the sense of humor through memorization. But there is no sense of humor that is based on memorizing things: by definition, this quality it's based on spontaneity and in the way we react to our context in real time.
It is clear that learning jokes does not hurt anyone and can serve to laugh, but it is best not to confuse this with the sense of humor, although probably this last element will influence our ability to tell one.
On the other hand, linking the sense of humor to jokes can lead us just to the opposite, to foster a way of understanding the funny based on the "technical" application of jokes, something that is very rigid and can even become boring for everyone.
6Learn to differentiate when it is appropriate to use it and when it is not
There are situations in which joking is over . Not because the situation itself does not have a funny component for us (if not, we would not have come up with any funny comments in the first place), but basically not to hurt other people who are having a bad time or to which is important that the moment be solemn. It is appropriate to respect their will and let them have those spaces free of comments that would be inappropriate for them.
