How To Laugh
A doctor, an architect, and a lawyer were sitting around one day arguing about “what was the first occupation ever?”
The doctor says, “God took a rib from Adam and created Eve…that was a surgery. So doctor was the first occupation.”
The architect says, “But before that, he created the world out of chaos…so architect was the first occupation.”
“Ahhh,” chimed in the lawyer, “who do you think created the chaos?”
Unless you’re an attorney with no sense of humor, this is a very funny joke. I have used it many times to open seminars, workshops, and other speaking events…though I only use it when I can tie it in with the subject or group that I am addressing (a future article).
When you read the joke, did you laugh, smile, shrug and nod your head, or did you do nothing? Maybe to you, it was a “groaner”…or perhaps you didn’t even get it.
I hope you laughed…you needed it.
We all need to laugh.
A colleague of mine, Karen Dougherty, recently wrote a brief article about laughter (Laughter is Good Therapy). She mentioned a couple of statistics about laughter:
-The average adult laughs about 15 times per day
-The average preschooler laughs about 400 times per day.
What happened to us? That means, as adults, we laugh (oh great, don’t make me do the math) 96.25 % less than we did when we were kids. That’s outrageous!! We’ve got to snap out of it!!
Wait a minute…a thought just occurred to me. What if we just forgot how to laugh?
Besides a couple of the Star Wars movies, George Lucas wrote one of the most entertaining movies that I have ever seen. (I bet you never thought you’d read that line, did you?) It is called “Radioland Murders.”
It has everything in it, mystery, intrigue, romance, music (it is not a musical, though it has a lot of singing in it), and, oh yeah, it’s a comedy through and through.
I bring it up for a couple of reasons…
1) I have mentioned in previous articles that there are different levels of humor. This movie is way up there in the “smart” humor area. This movie didn’t make it in the “real” world because the pace is too fast and the humor is quick and, sometimes, too subtle (although there are some great slapstick scenes) for the regular “Joe.” I don’t know if you know this, but in order to appeal to the masses, most forms of entertainment are geared toward an 8th grade level of intelligence…or less. I saw this movie with two friends (they sat on either side of me in the movie theater). I was smiling, laughing, and being thoroughly entertained during the whole movie. Afterwards, I mentioned how entertaining and funny the movie was and my friends told me that they didn’t think so. I was baffled…they didn’t get it. It turns out that I didn’t get it either. The first time I saw the movie (by the way, it’s got an all star cast), there were so many things that I missed. Of course, I bought it and I watch it quite often. Every time I do, I see something new and I laugh all the time…still.
2) There is a scene in “Radioland Murders” where a tightly wound, stick-in-the-mud sponsor (Brion James) is watching the radio show from his own personal booth…scrutinizing…scrutinizing… Clearly this character has never laughed a day in his life. Then, in an attempt to end his life, the killer pumps “laughing gas” into the booth. He, the sponsor, smiles…catches himself, back to the grimace. A little giggle…he is shocked at himself…grimace. Laugh out loud…and now he can’t stop. Witnesses watching this scenario say he must have had a lot of “stored up” laughter inside of him.
That’s where I think a lot of us are…we have laughter stuck inside of us waiting to get out.
Just so you know, when I say “us” and “we,” I’m not really talking about me (I have never been accused of not laughing enough)…I’m talking about humanity in general.
I am the happiest man in the world. Part of that belongs to the fact that I laugh a lot. I’m not afraid to let it out. I don’t care what others think of me. So there it is…the first rule of laughing…
Forget Peer Pressure – Be Secure With Yourself
One of the reasons people don’t laugh is that they are afraid of what others might think of them. “What if they think that what I laughed at is stupid? Then they’ll think that I’m stupid.” So what if they think your stupid? When those people are leading miserable lives and dying at an age much younger than you, who do you think is going to be considered the stupid one?
This is a trap that teens find themselves in constantly. I see it all the time when I’m doing a show at a school. It takes a while for me to get them warmed up into a laughing mode because they want to make sure they’re not the only one laughing. When they see the well-adjusted kids laughing at me, then they start to join in. There has only been one exception to this. I performed at a high school for gifted kids and they laughed from the get-go. They weren’t worried about peer pressure. They were secure with themselves.
The second rule to laughter is this:
Don’t Suppress the Laughter – Let It Out
There have only been a couple of times that I didn’t obey this rule…and one of those times was at a funeral.
This “rule of laughter” is pretty self-explanatory…don’t squelch it. If something strikes your funny bone, laugh…laugh out loud…laugh for as long as you need to…laugh!! Does this ever happen to you…you see something that is really funny and you try to hold in the laughter and because the force of the laugh is too strong, you spray nose mucus all over the place. If that happens to you…especially if it happens to you a lot, then you are trying to suppress the laughter. Stop it!! Enjoy the moment!!
Start Little…Then Let It Grow
If you really have to work at it, that’s all right!! Practice laughing!! Start with a snicker (teehee)…then do a snicker and a giggle (teehee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee). Now do a muffled guffaw (Ha!)…do 5 of those in a row (Ha!, Ha!, Ha!, Ha!, Ha!). You should be doing these in front of a mirror so you can see yourself and laugh at yourself laughing. Practice, practice, practice!!
Develop Your Own Style of Laughter
Some people aren’t happy with their laugh…the way it sounds, the way it carries, the way it comes out of their mouth. You can change it…but you have to be aware (not beware…just be aware). There have been a few times in my life that I started laughing differently. One time was because it was the fad (oops, you caught me…oh well…at least when I give into peer pressure, it’s the kind that dictates HOW I laugh and not IF I laugh). Another instance, I had accidentally laughed a certain way (a way that I didn’t usually laugh) and a girl who I liked said it was cute…so I made it a point to laugh that way all the time (what we men won’t do for a woman). Now…I just laugh how and when and where I like. Sometimes I’ll think of that scene in Mary Poppins where Uncle Alfred sings about loving to laugh (if you haven’t seen it or if you haven’t seen if for a while…I highly recommend it. He sings about a lot of different ways to laugh).
There’s a lot more to laughing, but for now…go and experiment! See how much you are laughing…then do everything in your power to double it…then double it again!!
You’re life will be higher, happier, and healthier!!
Ha…haha…hahahahaha…ho ho hee hee haha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
