Why You’re Not Laughing As Much As You Should Be

With terrible things happening all over the globe, high stress levels, and many of us collapsing from our over-scheduled lifestyles at the end of each day, we need laughter more than ever.  So why exactly are we not laughing like we used to? Here are some of the reasons I find we are not laughing as much as we should be.

 

1. Constant responsibility is a huge reason why we aren’t laughing a hundred times a day. Many Americans are overwhelmed with how much they have to tackle every week between their job and families and the stress can take a major toll.
2. As adults, we often forget how to have fun!
3. Especially if you spend most of your time at the office, it can be difficult to gauge whether or not your sense of humor matches with everyone else’s. What I think is funny isn’t always what someone else does, and the intimidation of making a joke that nobody else understands can sometimes keep me silent.
4. A major problem that stops laughter is glass-half-empty syndrome. Too many of us look on the negative side of things and refuse to recognize the positives. While some situations are serious, many of the things we get worked up about we won’t even remember in a year.
5. If there is one topic that every news channel broadcasts, it is that life nowadays is too serious! By lightening up and letting yourself laugh a little, you can lower your stress levels and remind those around you that life is too short to never have any fun.
6. Too much laughter can be a bad thing in certain places, as people can interpret laughter as a sign of immaturity. If you work somewhere that is serious, you are almost certainly not getting enough laughter in your life.
7. In a social media centric world, many people are extremely self-conscious of how they present themselves. If you find that everyone else being serious is keeping you from cracking a smile, don’t worry about what everyone else thinks and embrace your personality. You never know who else is holding back laughter.
8. As our culture has become more serious, we simply don’t find things as funny as we used to.
9. Many of us, whether or not we want to admit it, want to travel with the pack and fit in our social and professional groups. The fear of being the only one laughing keeps many people silent throughout the entire day.
10. We are always focused on getting things accomplished. Many jobs revolve around tight deadlines, high levels of productivity, and short (if any) breaks. The constant need to be productive takes a major toll and can make it hard to giggle when life throws a curveball.

Now that I’ve shared some of my observations, comment with the reasons you find you aren’t laughing enough  (and maybe a joke to make us all laugh!).