Adding Humor to Life’s Toughest Moments

There is no denying that life can be tough sometimes. Whether it is dealing with a stressful work project, navigating a personal hardship, or facing a difficult conversation, we all encounter challenging moments throughout our lives. While these situations may feel anything but humorous at the time, making space for levity can help provide perspective, and even create a sense of empowerment. The following tips offer some suggestions on how to use humor to ace life’s toughest moments:

Lean In

It can be tempting to avoid a tough situation altogether, but learning to lean into it is often the first step in making its emotional load feel lighter. Acknowledge what you’re facing with honesty and vulnerability, and – if appropriate – try adding a bit of levity into how you approach the situation. Doing so can help break the ice and make daunting tasks feel more approachable.

Find Your Inner Jester

While you may not instantly become a stand-up comedian, striving to find humor in challenging circumstances can bring an unexpected boost to an otherwise stressful experience. Jot down the funniest or most ridiculous aspects of the what you’re dealing with, and give yourself permission to laugh about them.

Comedy Club of One

When life hands you tough moments, creating your own comedy show can provide a break – and a confidence boost – in feeling in control. Follow in the footsteps of famous improv exercises and embrace the practice of saying everything that comes to mind. You’d be surprised how doing so can allow humor to come out seemingly from nowhere.

Retain Your Perspective

Though it may be challenging in difficult moments, keeping a big-picture perspective can make it easier to find the humor in life without losing sight of the gravity of the moment. Try becoming an observer of the situation and observing it in a lighthearted way with the notion that everything eventually will be okay.

Laugh It Off

At the end of the day, adopting a lighthearted and fun approach to life’s tricky times can create the best impact. Reading, listening to stand-up performances, humorous TV shows and movies or other comedic genres every once in a while amidst difficult times can change your mood and help laugh off those tough experiences.

Incorporating humor into your coping approach during those difficult life moments can take practice; just like any muscle. Given our natural predilection to being upset with difficult circumstances or stressors, you’ll eventually learn how to adequately adjust strategies that initiate the laughter reaction, successfully softening intimidating experiences thus helping increase resilience over time.