It’s no joke that keeping your sense of humor gets you through life. When you’re able to laugh at situations in life, you improve your physical health, enhance your relationships, and boost your emotional health.

So, when should you laugh? Check out situations–these are times you really can rely on your sense of humor.

10 times it’s wise to keep your sense of humor

Keeping your sense of humor shows you’re able to keep perspective in any situation. It means you don’t take yourself or your circumstances too seriously.  If you have a hard time laughing at situations, you may a perfectionist and lack flexibility when things don’t work out the way you want.  If you want to grow in having a sense of humor, here are some situations for you to apply laughter.

1- Keep your sense of humor when you drive

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Long commutes to and from work can take a big chunk out of your day. Plus, dealing with angry, rude drivers makes the commute unpleasant and frustrating. If there’s a time to keep your sense of humor, driving is at the top of the list. If you can laugh in the midst of this stressful situation, it will help you not lose your cool. When some people get behind the wheel, they lose all sense of civility, but you can maintain yours by keeping a good sense of humor along the way.

Check out these funny driving school jokes to keep you laughing when you drive.

Q: When is a car, not a car?

A: When it turns into a parking lot.

Q: What did the traffic light say to the car?

A: Don’t look. I’m changing.

2 – Keep your sense of humor when you go shopping

You need to shop for food, clothing, and all the other stuff you and your family need. Depending upon where you go shopping, it can be stressful with long lines and hard to deal with people. If you like to shop online, you avoid dealing with people, but you inherit other stresses. Who hasn’t had to talk to a customer service person only to be put on hold for what seems like hours?

Then there are the challenges of picking the right color and size, and last but not least, the frustration of returning an item. Keeping a sense of humor when you shop prevents your getting a headache and high blood pressure. Laughing at your shopping problems keeps perspective. Here are two jokes to make you laugh when you go shopping the next time.

Q: What is a math teacher’s favorite day to shop for sales?

A: Prime Day!

Q: Did you hear about the monkeys who shared an Amazon account?

A: They were prime mates.

3 – Keep your sense of humor as a parent

Parenting is a tough job. It requires all your mental and physical energy to take care of small children and their needs. When your kids are teenagers, it requires all your emotional energy to help them work through all their issues. Some people feel that parenting is the hardest thing they’ve ever done. To keep your sense of humor as a parent is necessary to survive, especially when you’re going through a hard time with your kids.

Being able to laugh, not at your kids, but at yourself helps. Laughter is good for your heart and mind when things are stressful. Sometimes, there is nothing to do but laugh at how overwhelmed you feel, and that’s okay. Here are some funny children versus teen jokes to keep you laughing as a parent.

  • Children enjoy doing donuts for breakfast… teens enjoy doing donuts on people’s lawns.
  • Children scream and fuss when it is time to go to bed… teens scream and fuss when it is time to wake up.
  • Young children break the rules because they “don’t know any better”… teens break the rules because “everybody else does.”
  • Children enjoy manipulating playdough… teens enjoy manipulating adults.
  • Little kids gain knowledge by asking many questions… teens already know everything!

4 – Keep your sense of humor in your marriage

Laughter in your marriage is really a way to show that you love your partner. If you can laugh with them, it means you feel comfortable with them. It also means you aren’t taking yourself too seriously. In a relationship, sometimes laughter can help break through those tense moments between the two of you. Being able to laugh relieves the stress and anger of the moment and allows the two of you to see the situation from a new perspective.

Figure out what makes your partner laugh. Find ways to lighten their day with a funny text or cartoon you find. Encourage their sense of humor by telling them how much you love to laugh with them.

5 – Keep your sense of humor at work

Your job can produce a lot of stress in your life. Studies found that laughter therapy helped student nurses deal with their stress at work. Employment stress can result in anxiety, depression, frustration, and physical illness. Researchers are finding that laughter significantly reduces employment stress. Workers who experienced laughter therapy were happier and more productive. Don’t underestimate the power of a good laugh. Here are some good laughs about work.

I get plenty of exercise at work: jumping to conclusions, pushing my luck, and dodging deadlines.

Q: Why did the can crusher quit his job?
A: Because it was soda pressing.

Whoever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find you! You have my word!

pain-relief
6 – Keep your sense of humor when you’re with family

If there is a second most necessary time to keep your sense of humor, it’s when you are with the family. Aunt Ellie’s political rants and Uncle Fred’s discussions about the moth’s evolutionary metamorphosis get old quickly. Maintaining a good sense of humor helps you not run out the door. Remember that everyone’s family has complicated stories and people. It’s part of being in a family.  Here are two jokes to keep you laughing about your next family get together.

  • Family reunions get a bad reputation. This is way better than jury duty!
  • Do you want to know what the best part is about an annual family reunion? You get a full year to recover.

7 – Keep your sense of humor when you’re going through a hard time

Life can be hard when you face sickness, death, loss of a job, or divorce. Although none of these situations are funny, it may be helpful to look for a bit of humor when you’re in the midst of the situation. You can still grieve your loss or feel sad, but you can find humor to get through. Maybe you think it’s wrong to laugh at difficulties. You may take a serious view of life and its troubles. Life is short, and everyone goes through hardships in their life.  Laughing makes people feel connected to you and more approachable. When you laugh at hardships, you realize that you can get through even the most difficult situations.

8 – Keep your sense of humor with difficult people in your life

Everyone has a difficult person in their life. It could be a family member, co-worker, or neighbor. There is always someone who irritates you. The person will probably not go away, so you need to learn how to deal with having them in your life. Being able to laugh at the craziness of dealing with this person is helpful. You may not know what to do to keep the difficult person happy, but you can at least learn to laugh.

9 – Keep your sense of humor to improve your health

Researchers have found that laughter really the best medicine. Studies found that laughter can improve your pain maintenance and boost your immune system. Laughter can also do the following:

  • Lower your stress
  • Helps anxiety and depression
  • Increase your pain tolerance
  • Improve your cardiovascular health
  • Improves your oxygen levels
  • Lowers your blood pressure

10 – Keep your sense of humor as you age

Getting older is a fact of life. You may feel young at heart, but the face in the mirror doesn’t lie. As you age, you find that you have physical limitations you didn’t have when you were younger. Perhaps you can’t jog anymore because the cartilage in your knee is wearing out. Or your teenage daughter told you that you look older than her friend’s mom. Keeping a good sense of humor helps you on your aging journey. Laughing at your limitations and the funny things you can’t do helps your perspective on life. If you’re too serious about it, it will be depressing.

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Final Thoughts on Keeping Your Good Sense of Humor

A sense of humor will get you through the hardest some of the hardest times in your life. It helps you keep perspective and eases the difficulty of the situation. Researchers are learning the value of laughter to improve your health, lessen your stress, and boost your happiness. Laughter therapy is now being used at work, school, and nursing homes to help people cope better.