On the other hand, lacking a sense of humor makes a person appear antisocial or unfriendly, which negatively affects accepting them by society. It might harm their professional, commercial, or social interests, or even worse, it might have a negative impact on their physical and mental health.
Thus, we consider people who have a high and well-developed sense of humor lucky to have this talent or instinct. On the other hand, humor can be an acquired matter that the individual can learn and develop its skills over time to notice its direct effects on their social life.
What is the definition of sense of humor?
If we try to define humor, we can say that it is the ability to find happiness in daily life situations, regardless of the difficulties, problems, or obstacles that stand in the way of our production. It can also be defined as having the skills to manipulate words and expressions, and the flexibility in using metaphors in dealing with daily events. A great French philosopher, who connected it to the reality in which a person lives within its situations and difficulties, defined it as overcoming oppression.
Sense of humor and evolutionary psychology
According to evolutionary psychology experts, humor gives emotional energies imbued with happiness that bring hearts together and charge them with affection and compassion, which is why they believe it was used to deal positively with conflicts, quarrels, and disagreements.
Furthermore, it helps different people or groups form alliances and relationships with one another. The sense of humor is just like other human instincts that help the species survive and proliferate.
Evolutionary psychology experts believe that the sense of humor is like any other talent or creative ability, such as drawing, sculpting, playing, singing, poetry, literature, and other talents that have evolved with human evolution as a feature that indicates intelligence and unique useful genetic quality.
Over time, it became an essential component of human nature through sexual selection, as people with this sense have always succeeded in attracting and maintaining a partner after the initial admiration fades away. Therefore, jokes are a renewable and flexible method of attraction. Every day, there is a new event, thus, a new joke with different events and plot.
The sense of humor is the greatest savior for our mental health
A sense of humor acts as an immune shield for mental and psychological health. It increases flexibility in the face of various hardships.
When faced with certain challenges in life, an unfortunate incident, or a troubling situation, a person can either give in and become frustrated, despaired, overtaken by negative emotions, and move closer to depression, or they can take it as a joke and tell it as a funny joke after reformulating it in their own humorous way.
This method is based on a simple, but very important, psychological law, which is that when we laugh at our mistakes, it protects us from entering a vicious cycle of depression, and increases our mental and spiritual maturity.
The latest studies have shown that laughter and telling jokes improves the health of blood vessels, reduces the incidence of atherosclerosis - a major cause of myocardial infarction and clots that might affect the brain, kidneys, or any other organ - and improves the heart work and the arterial blood pressure.
Sense of humor and work productivity
In any company or institution, the atmosphere of joy and banter that humor fosters creates an optimistic, joyful environment that is suitable for unconventional thinking. This contributes to enhancing creative thinking, in addition to spreading enthusiasm among the workers. Enthusiasm is contagious, and it makes work more fun and passionate.
Psychology experts believe that creating such an atmosphere increases employees' commitment to work ethics, and thus obtains more accurate and professional results. We conclude from all of the aforementioned that the sense of humor clearly and explicitly raises the efficiency and productivity of work.
Humor is an effective way to get rid of anxiety and stress
No matter how much we write, we are powerless in the face of the effectiveness and significance of humor in helping us remain steadfast in moments of stress and anxiety, as well as in challenging and threatening situations that require us to temporarily divert our attention from the threatening elements in order to create a mental space to think about a solution to the issue.
Excessive thinking about a specific topic or problem is one of the most important causes of anxiety or stress. Here lies the effective role of humor. It eliminates this void in which fear and anxiety grow. It is an important way to greatly reduce work pressures.
The sense of humor leads to a successful and perfect social life
A person generally tends to people who relieve their worries and tiredness. Of course, the people who are most capable of that are the humorous ones. Therefore, the individual who has a sense of humor is the most attractive, accepted, and welcomed by others. They can positively influence and upset the tired mood.
There is nothing that relieves worries and fatigue more than laughter and fun, which creates a beautiful and comfortable atmosphere for forming new relationships and exchanging ideas smoothly and flexibly.
Thus, we conclude the important and significant role that humor plays in increasing the complexity of your social relationships and strengthening them at a time when relationships are important and necessary in professional and practical life.
If I am not a humorous person, can I become one?
There was a lot of debate among psychologists about this issue. Some of them insisted that having a sense of humor is an innate, instinctive trait that comes with birth. Other experts acknowledged the possibility that it could be learned. They considered it to be a part of human nature, as there is no such thing as an individual without a sense of humor.
In the past, there was a belief that some civilizations or cultures used and improved the sense of humor. Later, it became clear that there is no civilization that did not include the culture of humor. So if you want to have a sense of humor, you have to look at the comic side of life.
How can I develop my sense of humor?
If you want to develop your sense of humor, you should follow these steps:
- Before you think of making any joke, you have to be careful and ask yourself an important question: "Is this joke a mean one?" In other words, does it offend a person, belief, or something else? You have to be positive and laugh more at the jokes that you and your friends make, but within a certain limit that does not make you silly.
- For a start, you can memorize some jokes or funny stories from the Internet, books, or magazines. It is very important to observe humorous people and imitate their sense of humor, with modification and adding some of your own touches. Imitation is neither shameful nor forbidden; rather, it is benefiting from the experiences and expertise of others. Remember that all the progress that humanity has reached depended on benefiting from the previous experiences, adding to them, and developing them. Watching comedy serieses is also a training and educational session. You can take a lot of jokes and methods from them. The joyful atmosphere that these series add makes you more creative in composing jokes.
- It is also important to choose the right time to tell the joke. It is possible that one of those present is going through a certain crisis, trauma, or unfortunate accident. You must know that this time is not appropriate for such matters, as that person might think that you don't care about their misfortune.
- Avoid excessive joking. Despite all the great benefits that jokes give us, we should not spend all our time telling jokes because it shows that we are not serious about anything, unworthy of responsibilities, or empty from the inside.
- It is very useful to sit in your room in front of the mirror and imitate a comedy star or a funny person you know. You can consider this advice as the most important advice of all because it will transfer you from being the viewer to the main player. Through these exercises you will be able to assume this role and become proficient in it.
In conclusion
Psychology experts emphasize the importance of humor in bringing happiness to people's hearts and being satisfied with oneself and life. It also enhances individuals' integration with each other, and reduces psychological stress and physical fatigue. For psychology experts, the concept of humor extends to include wisdom, creativity skills, innovation, and love of learning. It enhances a person's sense of optimism and psychological and physical well-being as well.
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