Words with a “K” sound in it are funny. “Cupcake” is funny…“Tomato” is not funny. —Neil Simon, The Sunshine Boys
If we can change our mood, we can change our future. Living in the past is like driving into the future looking in the rearview mirror. This is helpful advice, but how do we take control of the situation with humor? How can we turn a difficult task into an easy one? This next story illustrates how a man turned an otherwise annoying situation into a great, funny story.
A speeding motorist caught by a roadside camera tried to play a little joke when police sent him a speeding ticket. The notice included a photograph of the car, the date, the speed, and demanded payment of a fine. The motorist sent back a picture of a check.
Police sent back a photograph of handcuffs.
The motorist got the message and mailed the real check. The story appeared in countless papers, bringing laughter to its readers.
When you’re in the middle of an upsetting situation, take a moment to find something funny about it. Laugh at the negative situations that happen.
I’m a pretty relaxed, down-to-earth person when I am at home, but when at these big conventions, I’m dealing with highly sophisticated, well…I call them big shots. I try hard not to say something stupid and act like an idiot. But no matter how hard I try to be sophisticated and polished, my true self always emerges. A woman that I’d been working with suggested we go get massages after the conference. This fancy spa is so relaxing with fountains, soft music, and scented candles. It’s beautiful. She introduces me to the masseuse and we go into our separate rooms. I lay down on the table, and this gal is doing such a great job— that I fell asleep.
She had to wake me to tell me to turn over. She lifted the sheet so that I could roll over, but I’m so disoriented because I just woke up that I roll away from her, instead of towards her and I fall off the table. She drops the sheet and grabs one of my feet and one of my arms to keep me from hitting the floor. She was quick. Here I am hanging off the table, naked as a jaybird. How do you recover from that kind of humiliation? All I could do is laugh. She said, “Are you alright?” I said, “Oh, honey, this happens to me all the time. My life is a never-ending sitcom. Let’s just get back on the table and finish this up.” We get in the car to head back to the hotel and the woman that I was working with, after hearing all the commotion asks me, “What was all that racket in there?” And I said, “Oh, that. That was my self-esteem falling off the table.”