Wendi Aarons was writing at her
local library when the sound of an angry voice made everyone look up. A patron,
outraged over a book policy, vowed to take her child to another library and
stormed off after berating the staff. The entire room was “so upset”, recalled
Aarons, a humorist in Austin, Texas. “It was just this awful, uncomfortable
silence.”
اضافة اعلان
But Aarons, a pro at balancing humor and
discomfort, saw an opening: She stood up and said, “‘Hey, does anybody have the
number for this other library? Because I want to call and give them a
heads-up.’”
Laughter erupted; the mood lifted. Things
returned to normal. This is the subtle power of “lightening up”.
“Levity is a mindset,” said Naomi Bagdonas,
a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who advises executives
on leading with humor and humanity. “It’s looking for reasons to be delighted
rather than disappointed in the world around you.”
Bagdonas joins a chorus of experts who say
cultivating levity is essential to well-being. Trying to lighten up might seem
challenging given the state of the world; a more somber practice — such as
mindfulness, which certainly comes with perks — can feel more appropriate for
“these unprecedented times”.
“Levity is a mindset… It’s looking for reasons to be delighted rather than disappointed in the world around you.”
But taking things less seriously allows us
to “travel more lightly”, said Willibald Ruch, a professor and positive psychology
researcher at the University of Zurich, and “saves the organism and the soul
from too much of a bumpy road”.
Humor and levity have physiological
benefits.When you are stressed, your nervous system
initiates the “fight or flight” response, causing a cascade of physiological
effects: Your body releases stress hormones that cause your heart rate and
blood pressure to rise. Your breathing becomes short and shallow, and your
muscles tense. Sometimes this is helpful, such as when you are in immediate danger.
But often — such as when you are running late and stuck in traffic — the stress
response adds unnecessary discomfort to an already unpleasant situation. Over
time, chronic stress can negatively affect health.
“Levity is our primary vehicle for restoring
a relaxed state,” said Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director of the Greater
Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley. It helps create a
buffer and escape from the mental and physical stress that underpins so much of
our suffering, she said.
Humor and levity are related, but the terms
are not interchangeable. There are more studies on humor — and other phenomena
such as laughter, playfulness, amusement, and cheerfulness, Ruch said. But much
of the related research falls under the umbrella of levity, he explained. The
core element that underlies these overlapping experiences is a sense of
lightness, as well as a posture of not taking everything so seriously.
Although declaring “laughter is the best
medicine” might be a bridge too far, a good chuckle has potent effects. There
are studies linking laughter to positive changes in heart rate, blood pressure,
and muscle tension.
And reams of other evidence support the
idea that living with levity can help people feel better. There are small
studies that connect laughter, humor and feeling amused to increases in
optimism, feeling in control, and life satisfaction, as well as decreases in
depression, stress, and anxiety. Research also suggests that humor helps us
build stronger bonds with one another, with links to greater satisfaction in
both romantic relationships and the workplace.
So, how do you cultivate more levity?The idea of “working on levity” may feel a
little forced. But, like building any other habit, practice helps — and there
is evidence that purposely creating amusing experiences has the same benefits
as spontaneous amusement. This applies even to the Eeyores among us: “The
capacity to experience amusement and levity is one of the ways that people can
change,” said Caleb Warren, co-director at University of Colorado Humor
Research Lab and marketing professor at the University of Arizona.
“The capacity to experience amusement and levity is one of the ways that people can change.”
To wit: Ruch and his colleagues had
participants take an eight-week humor training course in which they completed
the following tasks in the name of science: They watched more funny TV shows,
laughed louder or longer than they normally would, identified puns in media and
conversations, and made self-deprecating jokes. Humor trainees reported
increases in cheerfulness and decreased seriousness as a result.
So, how do you try this at home, without
the help of an official humor training? Here are some ways to start.
Look for things that are just the
tiniest bit amusing.Searching for things that are “funny” can
turn levity into a chore. Instead, try noticing “what’s true, and a little bit
delightful”, Bagdonas said. When your angry kid stomps into the room, does she
kind of resemble a tiny, drunk dictator? When you pass a dog park, can you
appreciate how the entire affair seems like a canine singles bar?
Sensitizing yourself to these moments
primes you to notice and savor them, said Heather Walker, an organizational
psychologist who describes herself as a “recovering serious person” and runs a
workplace consultancy called Lead with Levity.
Create a levity diary.Find time to record your amusing
experiences. Maybe on your morning run, a man jogs past you wearing in a Santa
suit. During your commute, perhaps the train conductor makes a completely
unintelligible announcement, and you make eye contact with another commuter and
laugh. These small moments are prime candidates for your diary.
Humor-based intervention studies have found that simply writing down three funny things from your day… can reduce symptoms of depression and enhance well-being for up to six months.
Humor-based intervention studies have found
that simply writing down three funny things from your day (or counting them
throughout and reviewing the total at night) for one week can reduce symptoms
of depression and enhance well-being for up to six months.
Read your diary periodically to replay the
good feelings and maybe even make yourself giggle. “When you’re rereading that,
you are reliving that experience. Your body is going to benefit,” Walker said.
Make humor a main ingredient in your
media diet.Along with fostering a levity mindset,
enjoy the low-hanging fruit of good comedy. There are an infinite number of
TikTok posters, TV shows, writers, and podcasts out there. Why not exchange
some of the grisly crime dramas with content that leaves you feeling amused?
Aarons recommended following comedians,
humor writers, and personalities on social media, as well as mining Netflix for
series that tickle your particular tastes. “I would strongly suggest setting
aside time to prioritize it,” Aarons said. “Even on really dark days, I try to
find something that makes me laugh or smile — even if it’s a stupid cat meme.”
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