The 7 1/2 Habits Of Highly Humorous People.

½. The half habit: This is a half habit because you don’t need the whole habit in order for it to be effective. It is the most difficult habit to maintain. This is the habit of changing your thoughts. Mastering your thoughts is a constant struggle, if you master them half the time, you’ll be doing twice a well! The thoughts you share with others can have a profound influence on them.

1. Treat humor as a necessity.
We need to eat, sleep and use the bathroom. I mean if you’ve got to go to the bathroom urgently, you don’t say “Ah maybe I’ll use the bathroom” – no, you run to it! Treat your humor that importantly and your sense of humor will greatly improve. We need to smile and laugh and see humor every day, every chance we get. On a first date is humor a luxury or necessity? If you want a second date, humor better be part of that first date.
Do you try to see the humor in all your interactions like a professional comedian would? If you seek out humor, it will find you.

2. Use self-effacing humor
Using self-effacing humor is the safest way to introduce humor to those you don't know that well. It helps build rapport and trust. You are always safe when you make yourself the “butt” of the joke, but never joke about the butt of someone else.
My wife came home after her complete physical when she turned forty. She was standing in front of the mirror in her underwear admiring herself. I came home not in the best mood, sore from my arthritis. I saw her and asked her “What are you doing?” She said: “Dr. Wristen just gave me a physical and said I should be very proud at the shape I’m in. I have four children yet I have the physiology of a twenty-year-old.” I responded: “Did she mention your forty year old behind? Laurie gave me a look, thought for a second and said “No, Your name didn’t come up at all.” Laughing at yourself is the highest and healthiest form of humor.

3. Keep your eyes open for humorous situations or create them with your imagination.
Use your imagination, your observations and your fantasies to create humorous situations I recall a time when I needed to create a humorous situation while working as a Trauma Social Worker. The hospital setting can become very stressful. I was very busy and stressed out on one particular day. I got on the elevator and it was empty. This rarely happens during the hustle and bustle of the hospital. I noticed I was the only one in, so I celebrated! I started jumping up and down and dancing, singing out loud, “Hurray, the elevators empty!” When the doors opened, I walked out with a big smile on my face and truly feeling the spirit of humor. I was feeling happy, not a phony smile, but authentically happy.

4. Use the Power of Humor and its positive influence on your own self and that of others.
Sharing your humor, makes your day and others better. One day my wife and I were arguing, later that evening when I got into bed that night I figured she was over it. Guys can be dumb sometimes. As I went to cuddle with her, I heard this voice that sounded like “The exorcist” saying “You’re invading my legal side of the bed! I went back over to my designated portion of the bed and a few minutes later, she passed some gas. I said, “Your gas is invading my legal side of the bed!” With that we laughed, made up and cuddled to sleep. That is the power of humor. Humor can diffuse angry situations. There are other things that it can’t diffuse though. Phyllis Diller said never go to bed angry, stay up and fight; well this was a better alternative.

5. Use your humorous imagination to improve your communication.
Mis-communication happens more often than Mr-Communication. The ability to clarify communication has much to do with your mental state at the time of the communication. If you hate the person you’re speaking to, then chances are you’ll not be too concerned with what he/she has to say. Oops the he/she does not necessarily imply a transgendered person, although it could, it could also be an actual person who is a he or a she. See how easy miscommunication happens? Humor helps improve your mental state so you can listen better.

6. Humorize With Humorgy
Humor can be very powerful, even life transforming if you're open to it.
By combining humor with all other aspects of life, your entire lifestyle will change. To humorize is to have the ability to look at yourself from a new perspective. When you can take all parts of yourself and add the spirit of humor you experience wholeness in a way that can't be described, only felt. That is Humorgy. With Humorgy you see the whole, which diminishes prejudice, judgement, and all negative aspects of life. When you can humorize with humorgy you can actually control the spirit of humor. Humorgy can be used for self-control. Those humorous thoughts protect you from getting sucked into the vacuum cleaner of dirt, hate, anger, depression, envy, greed, jealousy and other deadly sins.

7. Act like the highly humorous person you’ve become or are becoming.
Now that you are on your journey to becoming a highly humorous person, continue on your journey to ever increasing humorgy. Use your advanced humor powers to help others further improve their sense of humor. Take more time to laugh, watch a comedy, see some stand up, act silly, etc. Enjoy your new and improved sense of humor!

New! The above article is an excerpt from the new book: “The 7 ½ Habits of Highly Humorous People.”© By David M. Jacobson Professional Speaker