Wednesday 5 August, 2009Let Humor Become You

I’ve been thinking about humor in relationships lately and went and did some research about it.

It turns out that humor is a key ingredient in not only building successful relationships but in maintaining them. Here are the facts about humor that has been proven all across the board (medically, scientifically, spiritually, and emotionally) that I think are worth sharing:

1.      Humor builds relationships

2.      Humor increases communication

3.      Humor changes feelings

4.      Humor changes thoughts

5.      Humor changes behavior

6.      Humor changes biochemistry

Let’s take each of these one at a time and clarify them a little.

1. Humor builds relationship. Well, of course it does. Humor brings people together, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t like being around someone whom we find humorous? Humorous people are approachable and that can lead to all sorts of different kinds of relationships.

2. Humor increases communication. Absolutely. Try it in the workplace if nowhere else. I’ve seen bosses be more tolerant of people that they like even when mistakes were made that might have caused them to display more impatience towards someone else. As for building communication with loved ones, it’s easier to listen to someone if we know they find us funny, so why wouldn’t someone else feel that way towards us? When people use humor, others listen.

3. Humor changes feelings. Of course it does. Humor changes how we feel. How can we stay depressed or angry and anxious at someone if they get us to laugh? Even in that slip of a moment, our resentful or angry feelings relent a bit and take a back seat to what was found funny. It may not last, but just having that moment illustrates a window of opportunity...

4. Humor changes thoughts. How many times have we all read that its not what happens to us directly that affects us as much as how we respond to it? Besides, hasn’t someone been able to change your mind about something through humor that previously beforehand you were set in your mind about?

5. Humor changes behavior. Laughing can change how we feel towards something or someone, and we all know that how we feel is connected to how we behave. When we feel good, we reach out more and try new things, oftentimes even things that we’ve thought about for a long while but could never quite get up the courage to face.

6. Humor changes biochemistry. How is it possible to be feeling so crappy one moment and then, after sharing a laugh, feel better instantly in that little moment of time? There’s not a person on earth who hasn’t experienced this. Humor releases hormones that help relieve a build-up of emotional stress. Stress kills, humor releases. Pretty powerful stuff that our bodies can do, huh?

You know, we as women focus so much on our physical beauty to attract a mate that we often neglect the true qualities that we know to be real. Humor doesn’t have a required face to it...