The Humor Habit

The evidence is now in! Humor and laughter are good medicine. The companion to this book, Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health (2010, also published by AuthorHouse) discusses the exciting new research supporting the long-held claim that laughter is the best medicine. Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out Worldshows how to get these benefits of humor into your own life. It contains the first-ever humor skills training program that has evidence from multiple countries documenting its effectiveness in boosting your sense of humor and learning to use humor to cope with the stress in your life. No other program for improving your sense of humor can make this claim. The basic idea is to build key foundation humor skills on your good dayswhen youre in a good mood. While strengthening one habit/skill at a time, you dont extend these skills to daily stressors until the habits are well developed (otherwise, your sense of humor abandons you when youre under stress). The 7 Humor Habit Program first builds the habit of becoming a more playful person in general (humor is a form of mental play), and then focuses onverbal humor skills, finding humor in everyday life, laughing at yourself and other key humor skills. Studies in the USA, Switzerland, Australia and Germany have confirmed the effectiveness of this program in boosting your sense of humor. Evidence also shows that it improves your daily mood, boosts optimism and improves your ability to cope with stress. There is even evidence that the 7 Humor Habits Program is an effective tool in reducing clinical depression and anxiety. It has been shown to be effective for all ages, from college students to seniors in their eighties. So its never too late to improve your own sense of humor.

Discover and embrace the untapped power of your sense of humor In The Humor Habit: Rewire Your Brain to Stress Less, Laugh More, and Achieve More’er, veteran speaker, corporate trainer, and comedian Paul Osincup delivers a hilarious and effective new take on how to make yourself and your team more productive and resilient by focusing on the funny side of work and life. In the book, you’ll learn why humor isn’t an in-born quality you’re either born with or without. Instead, it’s a habit you can develop over time. You’ll find 100 ways to have more fun at work, methods to improve your resilience in dealing with adversity, and an explanation of the author’s “LAFTER” model that shows you how to leverage levity at work. You’ll also discover: The latest insights from contemporary positive psychology combined with timeless comedic techniques that enhance your wellbeing Strategies to help you battle “chronic seriousness,” a condition affecting virtually every professional, tradesperson, consultant, employee, manager, and business leader in the working world Ways to boost your team members’ brainpower and productivity using humor Perfect for managers, executives, team leads, directors, and other business leaders, The Humor Habit is the practical, hands-on guide to improved productivity that’s actually fun to read—and even more fun to implement.

"The 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Humorous People" is an easy and fun book to read. The practical applications on how to improve your sense of humor make this a 'keeper.' This book reveals the mysteries to improving your sense of humor to be happier, healthier, have better relationships and make you a highly humorous person. This funny, uplifting and endearing book will teach you the secrets of using humor to decrease stress, cope with adversity and enhance the good times. It tells the story of one man's rise from the depths of illness and chronic pain to the heights of success attributable to his daily humor habits. He explains his discovery of how the simple use of HUMOR can transform your life and the world you live in. This book begins your journey of enhancing your Humor Horizons. James Brown "felt good," and so will you when you read this book and change the course of your life.

The author presents a collection of ways to reap the proven human and corporate benefits of humor at work, organized by core business skill and founded on his own work as a business speaker and coach with the consulting company, Humor That Works.

WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.

DIVThere is an unmistakable gleam in Ma’s eye, and her absolute composure both appalls me and rips my heart from its root. I burst into tears. The gauntlet is thrown./div DIVFrom the time she was conceived, Susan Morse was her mother’s “special” child. For Susan, special translated into becoming her incorrigible mother’s frazzled caretaker, a role that continued into adulthood. Now she finds herself as part of the sandwich generation, responsible for a woman whose eighty-five years have been single-mindedly devoted to identifying The Answer To Everything. And, this week’s Answer looks like it may be the real thing. Susan’s mother is becoming a nun. Mother Brigid is opinionated and discerning (Don’t call them trash cans. They’re scrap baskets!), feisty and dogmatic (Stop signs and No Parking zones are installed by bureaucratic pencil pushers with nothing better to do), a brilliant artist (truly, a saving grace), and predictably unpredictable, recently demonstrated by her decision to convert to Orthodox Christianity and join its holy order. Dressed in full nun regalia, she might be mistaken for a Taliban bigwig. But just as Mother Brigid makes her debut at church, a debilitating accident puts her in a rehab center hours from Susan’s home, where Susan’s already up to her neck juggling three teenagers, hot flashes, a dog, two cats, and a husband whose work pulls him away from the family for months at a time. Now Susan gets to find out if it’s less exhausting to be at her mother’s beck and call from one hundred miles away or one hundred feet. And she’s beginning to suspect that the things she always thought she knew about her mother were only the tip of a wonderfully singular iceberg. In this fresh, funny, utterly irresistible memoir, Susan Morse offers readers a look at a mother-daughter relationship that is both universal and unique. For anyone who’s wondered how they made it through their childhood with their sanity intact, for every multitasking woman coping simultaneously with parents and children, for those of us who love our parents come hell or high water (because we just can’t help it), Susan Morse’s story is surprising, reassuring, and laugh-out-loud funny. A beguiling journey of love, forbearance, and self-discovery, The Habit introduces two unforgettable women you’ll be glad to know—from a safe distance./div

Discover the latest scientific evidence for the potent and revitalizing value of fun and how to make having fun a habitual and authentic part of your daily life with “this well-researched and impressive guide” (BookPage). Doesn’t it seem that the more we seek happiness, the more elusive it becomes? There is an easy fix: fun is an action you can take here and now, practically anywhere, anytime. Through research and science, we know fun is enormously beneficial to our physical and psychological well-being, yet fun’s absence from our modern lives is striking. Whether you’re a frustrated high-achiever trying to find a better work-life balance or someone who is seeking relief from life’s overwhelming challenges, it is time you gain access to the best medicine available. “A masterful distillation of science and personal experience” (Nir Eyal, author of Hooked), The Fun Habit explains how you can build having fun into an actionable and effortless habit and why doing so will help you become a healthier, more joyful, more productive person. In the vein of Year of Yes, 10% Happier, and Atomic Habits, The Fun Habit features “practical tips, tools, and tactics for bringing fun into our lives starting now” (Dr. Olav Sorenson, UCLA professor of sociology).