Developing a sense of humor

Having a sense of humor is one of the greatest assets of happy and successful people.

When a number of managers were asked what they looked for and deemed to be a personal asset, 80% answered 'a sense of humor.'

If you have ever looked at 'Male partners wanted ads', you would have noticed that 80% of women prefer a partner with a good sense of humor.

If you think that you have no sense of humor, ,b>the good news is that you can develop it

If you know you have a sense of humor, but feel it can stand some improvement, you can exercise it and get it honed more sharply.

To develop your sense of humor, it is important to know yourself in order to develop it further. Knowing more about yourself will help you to feel more comfortable with your 'funny self.'

Just like your body needs to be exercised to stay fit and in shape, your 'humor muscle' needs to be exercised as well. The more you exercise your sense of humor, the sharper and pointed it will become. Although this will take time, it is well worth the time investment.

Most of us have little difficulty to be reasonably amusing amongst friends and relatives, but more than likely can stand some improvement.

To nurture your sense of humor, listen to stand-up comedians, watch funny movies, read funny books, watch comedy TV, read the newspaper cartoon section, collect funny jokes that you can use to lighten the moment when with friends or relatives.

A word of warning however, know your clientele! Some jokes you can tell to anybody. There are some however, that you have to be aware of as to how they will be received.

Find the funny side in everyday life, watch for and extract the 'funny', and humor will soon become more natural to you.

Adopt a humor approach in life. If problems occur, try to see the funny side of the problem and learn to laugh at it.

Surround yourself with humor-loving people. Remember, the grouches will take you down their own misery spiral. Seek out the optimists, the positive people and avoid the pessimists, the negative individuals.

If you hang out with fun-loving, optimistic and positive people, there is less chance of becoming depressed.

Lean to laugh at yourself and the ridiculous situations that occur from time to time.

Remember too that humor is important in relationships. Couples that are happy together bond better and will stay together.

When you tell a joke and nobody laughs, don't fret, even professional comedians hit a dull crowd once in a while and bomb out with their jokes.

Develop your own personal and unique sense of humor. Let the child, the clown within you come out. Learn to relax, play, have fun, laugh. It's okay to be silly once in awhile. As a matter of fact, it feels darn good!

And don't pass up the opportunity to play and have fun with your children, your grandchildren. They are our greatest humor resource, because kids don't have any build-in hang-ups like adults, they know how to have fun!

In summary, here are a few tips to help you in developing your own unique sense of humorKnow your own humor style

If you like more information on how to lighten up and develop your sense of humor, sign up for my free monthly e-zine 'The Humormeister's Forum' on this website and receive a free e-book titled "Lighten up! - This is the only life you've got," which is chockful of information on how to sharpen your sense of humor