In pretty much any lifestyle, stress arises. And, if you’re anything like me, you automatically search for places to push the blame, and most of the times, its on yourself. I’ve learned that there are so many things worth stressing. But for the things that just aren’t worth it, feel free to laugh about it.

It doesn’t take much to frighten me. Once, I had a friend wait for me outside a classroom and when I walked out of the room to find her, she said ‘Boo!’ in a nonchalant matter, not trying to really scare me, but I was so startled that I let out a little squeal. There wasn’t anything to do but laugh at myself.

Sure, there are a lot of times in life where laughing is not appropriate, but in the little everyday things, there is always a way to find a silver lining. For me, that silver lining is laughing at my own ridiculousness.

If I trip, no matter who I trip in front of, I automatically laugh at myself. If I accidentally say the wrong thing, or spill something, or do anything even remotely embarrassing, I can’t help but laugh at my own misfortune. As long as nobody is hurt, I find no reason not to laugh at myself. This has set me free from the feeling of long term embarrassment, I stopped caring too much about my every little move.

And with every opportunity, I tell myself a good (or a really bad) joke. The internet is an excellent source for finding a good laugh. If nothing else works, funny YouTube videos usually do the trick.

One time I used humor to push through something was during my English class. You’re probably thinking, you weren’t paying attention during class? I kept losing focus, which was the problem. Feeling a little drowsy and beginning to feel under the weather, I desperately needed some joyful thoughts to perk myself up. I told myself a knock-knock joke in my head, which I found so funny that I started chuckling into my notes. Not only did I instantly feel better, but I felt somewhat rejuvenated. I lost focus for a minute, but losing focus for a minute to make myself laugh was ultimately more rewarding than losing focus for the rest of the class because I was feeling sleepy. I realized that being childish and telling myself knock-knock jokes heals the spirit in a way nothing else can.

Anytime something is discouraging, frustrating, tiring, or upsetting, I turn to self-humor to get myself through it. And believe me when I say my everyday life changed significantly the day I decided to let go, and let laughter happen.