Why you should take yourself less seriously | Paul Osincup | TEDxMontanaStateUniversity
2 min read
7 months ago
Published on May 26, 2024
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Table of Contents
How to Develop a Humor Habit to Reduce Stress and Enhance Positivity
Step 1: Understand the Power of Humor
- Humor can make you more optimistic, positive, and reduce stress.
- Developing a humor habit can enhance your brain, sense of humor, and mindfulness.
- Humor is like the sweetener in lemonade, making life more enjoyable.
Step 2: Recognize Chronic Seriousness in Adults
- As people grow older, they tend to lose their ability to laugh and find humor in situations.
- Chronic seriousness can impact one's overall well-being and satisfaction in life.
Step 3: Implement Humor Interventions
- Start by writing down three funny or amusing things each day for a week to increase happiness.
- Practice humorous reappraisal by reframing negative situations with humor to boost positive emotions.
Step 4: Play the "What I Could Have Said" Game
- Reflect on past stressful situations and think about how you could have approached them with humor.
- Train your brain to associate negative experiences with humor by playing this game regularly.
Step 5: Use Timeless Comedy Techniques
- Apply techniques like heightening or exaggeration to make stressful situations seem silly or funny.
- Exaggerate a situation to an absurd extreme to gain perspective on its importance in the grand scheme of things.
Step 6: Practice Mindfulness Strategies
- Incorporate mindfulness practices like breathwork, yoga, and meditation to reduce stress and enhance well-being.
- Humor can be a powerful mindfulness tool to cope with stress and find joy in everyday life.
Step 7: Develop a Humor Habit
- Just like learning a new skill, developing a humor habit takes practice and consistency.
- Train your brain to see the humor and fun in life more often to experience a lighter and more positive outlook.
By following these steps and incorporating humor into your daily life, you can reduce stress, enhance positivity, and learn to navigate life's challenges with a smile.