Learn to Laugh

Humor is the Key to Survival

Listen to the audio version.

Commentary

I am by nature a very serious person.  Laughter does not come easy for me.  Yet, I agree whole-heartedly with Audrey Hepburn — laughter cures a multitude of ills.  My wife, on the other hand, is the family comedian and she loves making people laugh.  She is the life of the party.  She tells me frequently to smile more and I keep telling her to be more serious.  Yet it is probably our ability and willingness to laugh together that has helped our marriage to last more than fifty years.

One of our daughters is like my wife.  She does silly things to make people laugh and she is always trying to make me laugh.  She gets excited when she discovers something that makes me laugh.  She finds joy in living.  

What I have discovered is that I have a unique sense of humor.  Much of what others find funny I do not laugh at.  I don't laugh at slapstick comedy and I find most sitcoms boring. Yet, someone can say something that is not meant to be funny and I will laugh.  I often find satire to be very funny.

I have slowly learned to incorporate humor into my workshops and seminars, but I can’t and don't tell jokes.  I don't have it in me.  Yet, I have found that I can play off the humor that is within every group.  I listen to what others say and spontaneously create short responses that continue and extend the humorous point that someone made.

I believe we have to be able to laugh at life.  As the poet said—even the best laid plans of mice and men will and often do go astray.  The creative leader has to learn to laugh when things go wrong.  We have to learn not to take ourselves too seriously because in the end it will not matter when we are six feet under.  Humor is the key to survival in this difficult and challenging world in which we live.

What makes you laugh?  Do you laugh often?  Do you have those deep belly laughs where everything shakes and tears fill your eyes?  Laughter helps us to relax and unwind and frees up the creative juices.  Most of us serious folks need to learn to laugh more and enjoy ourselves. (Leave a comment about what makes you laugh.)

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Audrey Hepburn

• Born Audrey Kathleen Ruston to Joseph Ruston, a British subject, and Baroness Ella van Heemstra, a Dutch aristocrat on May 4, 1929.

• Spent her childhood in Belgium, England and the Netherlands.

• Her parents separated in 1935 and divorced in 1938.

• Lived in the Netherlands during World War II.

• Suffered from malnutrition, developed anemia, respiratory problems and edema during the war.

• During the Dutch famine in the winter of 1944, her family made flour out of tulip bulbs to bake cakes and biscuits. She passed the time drawing.

• Studied ballet from age five. During the war she performed ballet to raise money for the Dutch resistance.

• After the war, studied ballet in Amsterdam under Sonia Gaskell.

• Moved to London and supported herself working as a model.

• Appeared as a chorus girl in the musical theatre revues High Button Shoes (1948), Sauce Tartare (1949), and Sauce Piquante (1950).

• Had minor roles in several films (1950): Wild Oat, Laughter in Paradise, Young Wives’ Tale and the Lavender Hill Mob.

• Cast in the title role in the Broadway play, Gigi in 1951. Received praise for her role and received a Theatre World Award. The play ran for 219 performances.

• Had her first starring role in Roman Holiday in 1953 opposite Gregory Peck. Played Princess Ann, a European princess.

• Won an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe.

• Signed a seven-picture contract with Paramount.

• Starred opposite of several of Hollywood’s best actors including: Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, Henry Fonda, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper.

• Starred as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

• Semi-retired after 1967.

• Died on January 20, 1993 in her sleep. She had a rare form of abdominal cancer.

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