by Patrick Tay

Created on: September 01, 2010

Humour is often the unfathomable entity that permeates in our lives but which also often appears elusive and unattainable. Why is a humorous life coveted by many? Because the benefits are many:  reduces risk of heart diseases, more cheerful outlook on life, increases effort in initiating conversations, improves one's relationships with others, increases one's creativity and level of positiveness and

many more pertaining to stress reduction.  And more importantly, humor is free. Everybody has it at no cost, fees or charges. How one acquires it is merely through a change in mindset - being less serious and more optimistic.

So yes! Adopting a humorous approach to life does make a difference to one's life- for the better of course. But only if we are able to integrate humor into our lifestyle. Bursting out in laughter in a conversation or two per day is not going to make much of a difference in our lives. Adopting a particular approach to life usually implies a consistent and resilient effort to maintain what one has in mind. In another words, we have to make the practice habitual over time. The same can be said when it comes to being humorous in our lives. It will be great to note that most of us are in this (being humorous) for the long haul, probably to cope with health or stress reasons due to the increased pace of life. 

Therefore, in order to make a positive difference in our lives through humor, we have to persist with the practice of seeing the lighter side of life. We are no actors or comedians, whereby we create laughter not for ourselves but for our audiences, and take a time-out when the curtain falls and the performance ends. Instead, we are doing this for ourselves, and in turn infect others with our lightheartedness and zest for life.

Nevertheless, as in all new endeavors in life, there is often the initial resistance which - more often than not - seems too overwhelming to overcome. This is probably the reason why only a few of us ever achieved the goal of living a humorous lifestyle. We have to take up the practice of smiling, laughing and more importantly, seeing the lighter side of life more often, more frequently and more habitually. We really have to cast aside the dreary and mundane part of life or more effectively, see them in a more positive light and accept them as part of our beautiful lives themselves.

Having achieved that,

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