Although I’m not funny, I do love to laugh. It’s amazing when people can see the lighter side of life and make quirky, funny, and knee slapping comments that bring tears to my eyes.

Describe the Habit

The definition of humor is:
1. The quality of being amusing or comic
2. A mood or state of mind

The habit of finding humor is being in a mood or state of mind where you accept or give humor. You don’t need to be funny to do this. When you hear it from other people, go ahead and laugh along!

My dad was very funny. He had a self-deprecating dry sense of humor. We found literally hundreds of scraps of paper after he passed away where he had written notes to make jokes. Here are a few.

· My girlfriend is so skinny. How skinny is she? At the pool hall, someone picked her up and tried to chalk her.

· When I moved to Minneapolis, I was so lonely. How lonely were you? I used to go down to Dayton’s and talk to the mannequins.

· I worked at the same small company for 30 years. I tried to climb the corporate ladder but there was only one rung.

· We have so much dust in our house. It was easier to take care of when the kids were small. We would just let them play on the floor in their pajamas and then we’d shake them out.

I miss him so much.

Recently I was at an assisted living facility. Some of the residents are beginning to lose their short-term memory. It’s sad to see.

At lunch, Joan asked Bob, “So Bob, how long have you lived here?”

Bob replied, “Oh, I don’t know, about 2 months.”

2 minutes later, Joan asked the same question again, “So Bob, how long have you lived here?”

Joan’s son, Dave, was sitting with her. He felt bad that his mother would ask the same question right away. It was clear that his mom’s short-term memory was failing.

Bob replied again, “Oh, I don’t know, about 2 months.”

In addition to feeling bad about his mother’s memory loss, Dave was frustrated and embarrassed by her behavior.

Joan asked the exact same question a third time. “So Bob, how long have you lived here?”

Dave spoke up in frustration before Bob could reply. Turning to his mother, he said “Bob has lived here 2 months, mom.”

Bob turned to Dave in confusion and said, “How do you know how long I’ve lived here? I don’t even know!”

Buh dum schhhh

Why is this a good Habit to find humor?

To me humor is healing, cleansing, and freeing. It involves our body, mind, and spirit. Laughter is the best medicine.

BODY - The Mayo Clinic even says so!

MIND - Psychology Today, one of my favorite sites explaining psychological principles for the layperson, shares the 7 Research-Based Reasons to Laugh Every Chance You Get.

SPIRIT - There is a Holy Laughter Wikipedia page to describe charismatic Christianity. I have no affiliation but found this interesting from a spiritual perspective.

How can you find humor?

Look for it everywhere! Here are some ways to find it.

1. Have friends that are funny.

2. Laugh at yourself.

3. Read joke books.

4. Follow funny people on social media.

5. Watch funny shows.

6. Set your mood or state of mind to find humor.

7. Look for the humor, even if it doesn’t seem normal. If you’re not making fun of other people, humor is a good habit.