A dive into the Strength of Humour

Humour is one of the five character strengths that comprise the Virtue of Transcendence.

Transcendence describes strengths that help you connect to the larger universe and provide meaning.

What is humour?

Humour means to recognize what is amusing in situations, and to offer the lighter side to others. 

Humour is an important lubricant to social interactions and can contribute to team building or moving toward group goals. 

Where other strengths are more or less essential for achieving certain types of goals or dealing with certain types of problems, humour is rarely an essential component to positive social interactions, but it is often a desirable one. It is also a valuable method of coping with distressing situations.

Humour involves the ability to make other people smile or laugh. It also means having a composed and cheerful view on adversity that allows an individual to see its light side and thereby sustain a good mood.

Why is humour of value?

• Humorous people are socially attractive to others
• Humour buffers people from life stress and hassles of daily living.
• Humour helps to enhance pleasure and positive emotions in life which contributes to overall happiness.

A couple of questions to consider

• Of all your relationships, who do you laugh with the most? How does that humour shape that relationship?
• How do other people you know express playfulness? What can you learn from observing playfulness in others?

Some things that you can do to practice humour

• Keep a humour diary and write down three funny things that happened in your day each day, however small they were. Note why they happened and, when you have enough of a collection, share them with someone. 
• Watch a funny sitcom or movie with someone who has a strong appreciation of humour. 
• When you find yourself taking life too seriously, pause to turn humour towards yourself and laugh. 

For more information on the strength of humour, go to https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths/humor.

If you are interested in exploring how the practice of Character Strengths might be of benefit to your business and culture, contact Peter Maguire on 0438 533 311 or at info@poswork.com.au.

Acknowledgement: the primary reference for this post is “The Power of Character Strengths: Appreciate And Ignite Your Positive Personality” by Ryan M. Niemiec & Robert E. McGrath (An Official Guide From The VIA Institute on Character)