Psssst…..did you hear the good news?  April is National Humor Month!  What?  An entire month dedicated to humor?  YES!  Truthfully, appreciating humor every day should be a practice we take to heart but, sometimes, finding the funny can be elusive.   I, like you, have had times when things are so dark that it’s been difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.    But, if we try, we’ll see Dr. Seuss was right when he said, “From near to far and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”  All we have to do is be open to seeing it.

Humor isn’t about jokes.  It’s about appreciating some of the funny things around us and incongruities in life (and there are a lot of them).  Some of the funny life things that have happened to me lately…

My granddaughter was over and asked me for juice and then proceeded to tell me that “juice is my beer, Papa.”

I was speaking to a group of people on how a physical distraction like my zipper being down can distort a message…only to realize (from someone in the crowd) that my zipper was, in fact, down.

I was so wrapped up in a conversation with my daughter that I didn’t realize that I had spread nearly half a stick of butter on a tiny piece of roll (okay, I did notice but played it off when she pointed it out (I really like butter)).

A waitress asked me if I liked my dinner (after it was all gone…quickly) and I said, “No, I didn’t care for it” and waited for a laugh.  She then looked at me and said, dryly, “I like Dad jokes.”

I was going over a presentation in my head before I was about to go on stage and then realized that my lips were moving as I did it…and most of the group saw me talking to myself (yes, complete with hand gestures).

My dryer broke and I had to go to the laundromat.  Instead of having their first dollar made framed and mounted, they had their first lost sock framed and on the wall.  When I met the owner of the mat, he said that two weeks after they put it up a guy came in to claim it (it’s still on the wall).

When I launched my new book, Get Past The Crap, (available on Amazon…(had to put that plug in)), a friend sent me a gift box of “Poo-Pourri” to celebrate.  It was funny (and functional).

For Christmas, I dressed up as Santa and went to visit my granddaughter.  She played along but, when I left, she said to her Mom, “Silly, Papa, he thinks he’s Santa.”  (I really thought I had fooled her).

Humor is everywhere and throughout my 50 years on this earth, it has helped me…

Cope.  If I can laugh at a stressful situation, it no longer has control over me, I have control over it.  It gives me to power to overcome.

Connect.  With strangers or people that may rub me the wrong way, humor is a great equalizer.  If I laugh with you, for that moment, I am one with you.

Learn.  The best lessons I have learned are the ones I’ve been able to laugh at and then learn from.  Further, the best teachers I’ve had were able to wrap the point up in a pun in order for me to remember it.

Lead. For all the reasons listed above (and more), humor has made me a better leader.  Additionally, a leader who can laugh at his own mistakes gives permission for his team to do the same and move forward.  Want creativity and innovation?  Humor helps create an atmosphere of risk without fear of reprise.

Live.  I can’t imagine a life without humor.  It is freedom.  It brings zest to my work, my relationships, and my world.  When I want to cry, laughing brings me back to life.

Let’s face it, we live in an angry world.  All you have to do is turn on the news or fire up Facebook to see that there are a lot of opinions and divisions in the world.  Humor doesn’t cure all of that but it can help you get past all of the crap we’re currently facing.

So this month, let’s laugh!  Find the humor in your world and share it.  There’s never been a better time to make a positive difference for yourself and those around you by finding the funny.

Want more info on the history of humor month?  Go here.

Want to join in on the humor month celebration? Sign up here!