Studies have been done that show that people with a good sense of humor are promoted a lot faster in the corporate world. And they are overall more successful.

This should make it clear that having a sense of humor is well worth it; in fact it is very important in today's world. Having a sense of humor reduces stress and the threat of a tense situation.

It means we need to laugh more and see the lighter side of things. Even world leaders must have a sense of humor. When they asked Churchill about how he handled getting nervous before a speech he replied, "I just picture the whole audience sitting there naked."

I used to get nervous around my mother-in-law, so I tried picturing her naked. Now she doesn't make me nervous anymore. She makes me sick!

We have to look at the funny side of things, even seemingly serious situations.

I come from a little town down south with a Mayor by the name of 'Bubba.' And our dear mayor Bubba was feeling his oats recently when he announced that he wanted our little community to be on the forefront of technology.

He said that he had approved of an automatic chiropractic machine to be installed down at our quarter car wash. He was proud to cut the ribbon and be the first one to try it out.

After the mayor crawled in the new contraption one of the town jokesters dropped a bad coin into the quarter slot and jammed up the machine turning the mayor every way but loose. Several tense moments followed until someone took a crow bar and jarred the door loose freeing the mayor who was not a pretty site.

He still walks with a limp and when he talks to you one eye looks at you and the other one stare's at your belly button.

Yes, somewhere around you there is a source of humor, probably several. Learn to look for them. You may find one as close as your mirror each morning. Just remember that Mark Twain said, "Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been."

Buy a funny book, get a comedy CD, rent funny movies, and look for funny sayings and quotes, whatever it takes to get the smiles going. You will be a happier person for it. Happier to work with and live with.

Kids seem to have more humor and as we get older sometimes we tend to lose it. Don't let life do that to us. Keep smiling and laughing. Don't lose that part of being a kid

You can even make a habit of clipping funny cartoons out of magazines and keeping them in a file easy to get to when you need a good laugh. We can keep our sense of humor in place if we make it a point to use it every chance we get.

And don't let life get you down. Comedian Jonathan Winters said, "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it!"

There are a lot of things to be thankful for and look forward to. As my Aunt Myrtle told my Uncle Roy, "Never pass up an opportunity to pee!"

And if you woke up breathing this morning, congratulations! You get another chance.

About the Author

Nate Coker was in broadcast news for years interviewing everyone from presidential candidates on down. Then he flipped out without warning and is still wandering around loose somewhere. http://www.ticklemegood.com