The benefits of a good sense of humor are so profound that colleges like Stanford offer business courses on humor in the workplace to teach "the power (and importance) of humor to make and scale positive change in the world, and also – surprise! – to achieve business objectives, build more effective and innovative organizations, cultivate stronger bonds, and capture more lasting memories."
Probably not all of these pictures will make you laugh. After all, comedy is like music in that we're all drawn to different genres.
Kate Nichols, a New Jersey-based psychotherapist and stand-up comedian, agrees that social media can be a great source for daily giggles.
For example, after you're done scrolling through 'Funny Pics,' you can create a folder on Instagram or TikTok where you can save the most hilarious memes or videos, and then return to them when you need a moment of levity.
Comedian Jim Tews has five tips for inviting humor into your daily life:
- Find your comedy comfort food. "Mine is old episodes of Cheers and Taxi," Tews said. "There's a lot of great new comedy you can watch to distract yourself, but there's something more soothing about watching a show that doesn't use cell phones in a storyline."
- Learn to laugh at yourself. According to the comedian, it's his own coping mechanism and he believes that we are all ridiculous beings.
- Share your most embarrassing stories with people you love. "This is pretty connected to number two, but I spend a lot of time around my peers who regularly do embarrassing and mildly improper things," Tews added. "Being able to share those stories is cathartic. Just know your audience. This might be a better activity for a family gathering as opposed to a work meeting."
- Laugh at a stranger when they're well out of earshot. "Feel okay about it, knowing a stranger will one day do that to you," Tews added.
- Get a cat or a very goofy dog. If you've been thinking about it but had your reservations, remember how much you enjoy funny animals on the internet. If you find them hilarious, why not?
However, desperately trying to be funny can have the opposite effect, so don’t put extra pressure on yourself.
If you’re regularly exposing yourself to more funny things, you’re going to wake that part of your brain up,” Nichols reassured. "It's just like exercising—if you're working a muscle group over and over, those muscles get stronger. Think of your sense of humor in a similar way."
