Catching up with Karyn

One of the theories of humor is that it comes from incongruity or derailment. That moment of absurdity that occurs when your mind thinks your train of thought is heading one direction, and then suddenly goes another, triggers our brain to laugh.

Today’s humor challenge: Practice derailment by playing with aphorisms.

An aphorism is a short phrase that expresses a truth or wisdom. For instance, you’ve probably heard the following aphorisms:

• The early bird catches the worm.
• Crime doesn’t pay.
• Too many cooks spoil the broth.
• Fish and guests smell after 3 days.

One way to play with aphorisms is to take your list of phrases, cut them in half, and then mix them up to create new and funny phrases, like

• The early bird doesn’t pay.
• Crime catches the worm.
• Fish and guests spoil the broth.
• Too many cooks smell after 3 days.

Another way to play with derailment and incongruity is to take the first half of the aphorisms and then make up your own endings. A first grade...

Here’s a great way to experience humor that doesn’t require you to go anywhere or do anything other than relax and… remember a past humorous memory or Moment of Mirth.

Today's humor challenge: Moments of Mirth.

We’ve all got stories that we share when we get together with friends or family—usually preceded by “Remember the time when…?” These stories usually grow and get even funnier over time.

I keep a journal and when I think of another Moment of Mirth (MOM) I jot it down. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says the palest of ink is better than the sharpest memory. (Especially MY memory!)

When feeling like I need a humor boost I pull out my MOM journal and laugh over an incident that might have otherwise been forgotten. Like when my son Adam, at 4-years old, hopped up into the barber chair and said to the barber, “Gimme a flat top.”

The barber saw the surprised look on my face and said to Adam, “Is that what...

I called my son, Adam, and I heard him respond, “Hello? Hello?”

“Adam, it’s mom,” I said.

“Hello? Your reception is terrible. Try moving to a better spot,” Adam said.

I walked to the other side of the room. “How’s that? Any better?”

“I can hardly hear you,” he said. “Try moving to a different spot.”

I walked to the other side of the room. “How’s that?” I said a little louder.

“I can barely hear you. Can you move around?”

I walked to a different spot. Now yelling, I said, “Can you hear me now?” And then I heard…

“This is Adam’s voicemail. Please leave your name and number and he’ll call you back.”

Today’s humor challenge: Leave something humorous on your outgoing voicemail message.

You can have fun AND give folks calling you a reason to smile. Over the years I’ve collected dozens and dozens of humorous outgoing...

It was eight o’clock on a Monday morning and I was lost in thought about the day’s events when suddenly a rhythmic thumping noise brought my seven-year-old to mind.

“Adam!” I called out. No answer.

“Adam!” I called again. Still no answer.

Now a mom-on-a-mission, I bounded up the stairs. As I approached Adam’s room I could feel the “Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!”

I opened his door and there was Adam—jumping up and down on his bed— wearing nothing but his underwear and a big smile . . .  . . . swinging his school clothes over his head… singing and kicking and dancing!

I lost it! “What do you think you’re doing?”

Adam stopped mid-jump, grinned a huge grin, and with the “wisdom of Yoda,” said, “Don’t ya think gettin' dressed in the morning oughta be more fun?!”

My first response?  “NO!!!”

My next response? “No more of Mommy’s motivational...

The ability to laugh at yourself reveals to others several important traits about you.

First, it shows you have a sense of humor—a desirable trait.

Next, when you practice self-effacing humor, you’re demonstrating your vulnerability. Those experiencing your humor see your openness in a way that makes you more approachable.

And when you poke fun at yourself, you're demonstrating poise and self-assurance. Being able to laugh at yourself takes a strong level of self-confidence.

So today’s challenge: Laugh at yourself.

Forgot your computer password? Left your zipper in the down position? Locked your keys in the car—again? Lighten up. Show others that you recognize that you aren’t perfect, that you’re capable of making mistakes, and that you can reframe and see imperfections through the lens of humor.

Numerous members of my family—including me—deal with Attention Deficit Disorder. We may have this disorder, but it doesn’t have us! We...

“Got any good jokes?”
“Nah, I can never remember the punch line…”

That’s how the conversation usually goes when I ask people for a joke. And when I ask for a show of hands in my audience to see who can tell a joke, only about 1 in 100 will raise their hand (while the person sitting next to them looks on thinking, “You can’t tell a joke!”).

Why is it that the majority of us believe we can’t tell a good joke? Joke telling is a skill that can be learned without a lot of blood, sweat and tears. For most of us, it’s just not that important. At least until today…

Today’s challenge: Tell a joke! If you already know a good one, then you’re way ahead. If you don’t, then here’s what you need to prepare for today’s exercise.

First, find a joke that you find funny. (Knock knock jokes, light bulb jokes, lawyer/doctor/engineer jokes, bar jokes—the list is almost endless!) There are tons of...

When we look at something as negative, bad juju in our body. But if we can change our perspective, it changes our outlook as well as our health. Humor is an easy and practical way to change your mindset.

Today’s humor challenge: Create a "rediculous explanation" list.

Think of something you’d like to get out of doing: Doing the dishes, filing your taxes, going to work… Then use your creativity or brainstorm with your humor buddy, and come up with as many outlandish and ridiculous reasons as you can to dodge the dreaded task! By viewing your chore through the lens of humor, you can lessen your stress and improve your mood. You'll more likely do a better job and enjoy it more.

Here’s an example:

I can't go to work today because…

• I have amnesia and can’t remember where I work.
• my goldfish has pneumonia.
• you broke my funny bone!
• I bumped my head on the glass ceiling.
• I’m taking a mental health day—I’m calling in well.
• I have...

Who makes you laugh? Ellen DeGeneres? Steve Martin? CK Lewis? Rita Rudner? Tim Allen? Roseanne Barr? Jeff Foxworthy? Whoopi Goldberg? David Letterman? Paula Poundstone? George Carlin? Wanda Sykes? Eddie Izzard? Joan Rivers? (Review your notes from Challenge Day 1: But I’m Not Funny)

Today’s challenge: Tap into your favorite comedian.

Today it’s easy to tune in and listen to your favorite comedian. YouTube carries tons of routines from comedians, past and present. iTunes allows you to listen to and download your favorites and take them with you on your smart phone, computer, iPad, iPod, tablet—you name it. And for those of you still listening to CDs—you can find a great number of comedian’s works on Amazon. (For those of you with cassette and 8-track tapes, your task may be a bit more challenging, but persevere!) Tip: if you follow your favorite comedians on social media, you may be able to access bits that aren’t available for sale.

Schedule...

I believe that humor is abundant—at least most of the time. But I’ll admit there will be times when you can’t think of anything humorous to laugh about. What then? Laugh anyway.

Today’s challenge: Laugh for no reason.

Laughter is so good for us and provides so many benefits that if you don’t have a reason to laugh, you’ll want to laugh anyway. It’s okay if it’s not a real laugh. Even with a fake (simulated) laugh, you get loads of benefits: aerobic exercise for your heart, muscle relaxation, improved mood—just to mention a few. And frequently your simulated laugh may become a stimulated (or real) laugh.

We have neurons in our brains called mirror neurons. That’s why when we see or hear someone else laugh our brain messages us to laugh, too. Sitcoms often capitalize on this by putting a laugh track on their show—you hear the laughter and then laugh yourself—even if you didn’t find it that funny! Or...

You can learn a lot about practicing humor from watching kids at play.

I was behind a mom and her 2 kids in the check-out lane and overheard her 6-year old singing away at the top of his lungs. It was a total nonsense song: John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt… I couldn’t help but laugh out loud—and then sing along with him!

Today’s Humor Challenge? Sing a silly song!

Think back to when you attended camp, or scout meetings, or church groups. Did you ever learn any silly songs? (Thought provoking songs, like… Do you ears hang low? or Great green gobs of greasy grimey gopher guts?) Still drawing a blank? How about theme songs from sitcoms? How about Gilligan’s Island, Beverly Hillbillies, Sponge Bob Square Pants? [If all else fails, Google 'camp songs' or 'sitcom theme songs'.]

Warning: Song may get stuck in your head (technically, that’s called an Ear Worm, but this is not a true parasite!). The antidote for an earworm? Substitute a DIFFERENT...