An Easy Way to Lighten Up Your Life

In his memoir "A Man's Search for Meaning," Viktor Frankl recounts how he and his fellow prisoners found a sense of humor during their miserable existence inside a concentration camp.

"Humor was another of the soul's weapons in the fight for preservation," he writes, "it is well known that humor, more than anything else in the human makeup, can afford an aloofness and ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds."

Even amidst the worst human suffering, he went as far as encouraging a fellow camp prisoner to develop a sense of humor. They made a pact to invent at least one amusing story daily about some incident that could happen after their liberation.

On one occasion, they dreamt about the future and laughed at the idea of being invited to a dinner party after being liberated. They joked about forgetting themselves when the soup was served and begging the host to lick from the bottom of the pot.

Viktor wrote that,

If these prisoners could find the capacity to laugh amidst such terror and unbearable suffering, surely, you can too. Your struggles, as difficult as they may be, are likely not as severe as what they endured.

No matter what you are going through, find a sense of humor in your daily life. Laugh at your mistakes, chuckle at your own struggles, and find amusement in the little things that go wrong. With humor, you'll make life's challenges seem a little bit less serious and your path a little more enjoyable.