Good Humor

Who doesn’t appreciate a good joke and a finely timed comic scene! Laughter is supposed to have a myriad of health benefits and hence the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. 

Life’s most treasured moments are the ones when we have hurt our stomachs laughing and the ones when we have cried tears of laughter.  

The ability to laugh at oneself and not take things too seriously is considered a very important life skill. Humor works magic in relationships and at work. I am linking two articles that talk in detail about it. 

In Love And Life Keep A Sense Of Humor in Psychology Today by Barton Goldsmith
10 Reasons Why Humor Is A Key To Success At Work in Forbes by Jacquelyn Smith 

Mark Twain said, “Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing”. I would add, when used wisely though. Humor is definitely an important ingredient in the recipe of a successful life. That ingredient whose quality and quantity is of utmost importance. A bad quality in excess quantity of this ingredient can perhaps cause more harm than good. In fact the absence of this ingredient doesn’t alter the taste of the dish as much as a wrong dosage does. 

Quantity And Quality Of Humor 

I have listed down three scenarios here: 

1. When humor becomes the only ingredient in the dish- excess quantity: 

I was recently watching an interview of a movie star where  he was trying very hard to turn every answer into a funny one. After a point, it got rather annoying. He was so focused on making the answer funny that would get into a completely different tangent. As a result, some of the questions were not answered and some of them seemed like plain lies. All in an effort to make the audience laugh. Making a joke out of everything finally ends up in making a joke out of oneself. Because joke is a serious issue, one should know how much of it can be used. 

2. When humor is of bad quality – equivalent to swearing and cursing:

A lot has been written and said about the current day comedy shows where all we hear is swearing and cursing. Calling out names and getting personal is the norm for most of these comedians. I wonder when comedy crossed the lines and started getting vulgar. Should comedy be used as a license to use foul language against anyone who isn’t in line with your ideologies? Should comedians have absolutely no code of comedy conduct? Because joke is a serious issue and when the lines are crossed, it no more called a joke. 

3. When humor becomes a wrong ingredient – as a tool to cause hurt: 

There is nothing that hurts a person more than a sarcastic comment. Humor is often used to camouflage those remarks that are meant to tell something more than literal. Using a smiley emoji or saying “I was only joking” at the end of a sarcastic remark doesn’t take away any harm that it causes. Sarcasm is bad communication. Humor cannot make it any better. In plain words, sarcasm is not even humor. 

To Conclude

I personally do not appreciate humor under these three circumstances. Otherwise, a dose of humor is the best medicine to have everyday. 

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