A good sense of humor is one of the most imporant things you will carry with you in life. Life is simply too difficult and serious for you to not have one. Some people think that the best way to deal with things is to just be serious and never laugh. Research shows that this is not the case. Laughter actually is good for your heart-it can increase the blood flow by more than twenty percent! Laughter allows us to take a break from the daily grind. It helps us to escape our situation and look at it from a different perspective. Without laughter we would surely be in a terrible position in life. Because we know that laughter is the best medicine, most parents want their children to develop a good sense of humor. Like their parents, children will need to know when to laugh at life and its absurdities. But how can you, as a concerned and good parent, encourage a good sense of humor in your child? It isn’t like watering a plant to watch it grow. A child is a person with a unique personality, and we should not try to change this. However, all children probably have some sense of humor and they can develop it more. While this might be easy in an elementary school child or teenager, how can you possibly encourage a good sense of humor in your infant or toddler?In this respect you will be somewhat limited, although there are things you can do. Infants are only so aware of the world and what is going on in it. This means that any kind of complicated sense of humor is simply denied to them. However, because they have so little understanding, the things that happen to them are very important and influence their later development. A baby often smiles at certain people who make funny faces or when they are tickled. Encourage this sort of behavior in your child. Find the things that make them smile and repeat them. As the baby gets older it might start to recognize what is absurd or funny. In this case find absurd things that will make the child laugh.Toddlers are the physical comedians of the world. They love to be tickled or thrown in the air. Some kids are more verbal and might like certain rhymes or silly words. They might find cartoons funny at this stage. Another thing that a toddler will start to do is be funny. When you recognize this in your child you know that they have a strong sense of humor. This usually manifests itself in behaviors that would seem absurd; when a child, for example, recognizes a rule or pattern but chooses not to follow it in order to get a response. Sometimes the beginning of a sense of humor is simply found in trying to get others to laugh.One of the most important things you can do to encourage your young child’s sense of humor is to laugh a great deal yourself. A child will observe this and learn that it is a good response to the world. A child who observes a great deal of seriousness and difficulty will probably think that the world is a scary place. When you laugh out loud you show your child that the world is okay and that its problems are not so bad. Kids will imitate their parents and follow in their footsteps. So remember to laugh in front of your kids and you will help them to develop great senses of humor.

You must have heard of the phrase, “Laughter is the Best Medicine”. This holds true even in relationships. This is primarily because laughter has the ability to bring people closer. Humor and laughter are essential elements in a strong relationship.A sense of humor and the ability to laugh together keeps relationships alive and vibrant. One is automatically attracted to people who are happy and funny. When you laugh with people you create a bond. This bond protects your relationships from depression, stress and disagreements.Sometimes it is easier to start talking about a serious subject by introducing it using gentle, playful humor. It is easier to take things in your stride and steer your way through disappointments when you maintain a sense of humor. If you take a look at hopeless situations with an open mind and a sense of humor, the chances are you will not find them as frustrating or bleak.Humor and laughter do make a relationship stronger but both partners need to be clued in to the joke. A one-sided joke can actually be damaging for your relationship. If your partner does not find the joke amusing stop pursuing it and change tack.You can use humor tactfully to lighten a conflict. It can actually provide an opportunity for you to lighten up and get your point across without hurting the other person’s feelings. Humor helps to ease out the tension and lets you see a problem in a new perspective. In a playful setting, you will tend to be less defensive so you will be willing to hear something you may normally find unpalatable. Laughter also helps to open up and allows people to express themselves more freely. This in turn allows sincere and honest emotions to surface.Do not however make the mistake of trying to cover up your real emotions with humor. Laughter should not be used to hide feelings of pain, disappointment or hurt. This just leads to mistrust and confusion in relationships.If you are uncomfortable using humor or displaying your funny side keep in mind that the more you play, joke around and laugh, the better you will be at it. Once you identify those activities that you find enjoyable, try and incorporate them in your day to day life. Avoid being self-conscious about how you look or sound. Shed your inhibitions and stop worrying about how other will react. It will help you loosen up and build deeper, more meaningful relationships.

Don’t you hate when a speaker is boring, arrogant, uncaring? It doesn’t matter if he or she is the most intelligent, or has the most money or the best material. Audiences today have seen it all. They’ve heard it all. At least twice. They need something new. The good news is that YOU have what they need. Because they have never heard YOUR story–the humor that is YOU.Technology has made information available, excessive–and overwhelming. Today, your words have to have meaning in order to hold the interest of your audience. Ultimately, you as a speaker are competing with many, many different forms of information. You must be able to stand apart from the crowd merely to be heard, and to have your message remembered. You can follow some simple steps to help uncover the humor that already exists within you.1. Don’t be afraid to dig deep. It’s usually the most painful, horrific things that are the funniest. Given enough time, anything can be funny.
2. Don’t try too hard to be funny–just talk about your average day. In this way, you connect with audiences in a natural, unforced way. In addition, you help them to see the humor in their own lives.
3. Don’t make laughs the end goal. The prize goes to the one who makes a human connection with the audience. Humor doesn’t have to mean laughter. It can be a lighter atmosphere, where creativity and good rapport can thrive.Try these steps the next time YOU have to be funny. And don’t forget to, “Get Your SHINE Together!”