The Unconscious Process You Unlock By Using Humor
Defining humor can be difficult mostly because humor is a subjective process that everyone experiences differently. It’s not one-size-fits-all, but it IS a process that unlocks creative problem-solving skills.
This is why humor is especially useful when it comes to dealing with sudden disruptions, unexpected adversities, or if you need to overturn the cart regarding a festering problem.
Human beings think in patterns, so when something unexpected occurs, our brains immediately try to reconcile the disruption by forcing it back into the previous pattern. This creates more problems than it solves, which has been demonstrated over the past 16 months by the resistance to behavior changes in the face of a pandemic and changing workplace.
“We need things to get back to normal!”
Might as well get caught having an affair, and your response as you’re hopping on one foot, trying to get your pants on as your spouse is marching out to her car is to say, “Let’s act like this never happened.”
Good luck with that.
Using humor is an integral process for disrupting the way things are, especially when those things aren’t serving you anymore. Here is the 8-part process you activate through the use of humor:
1. Pattern interrupt
The surprise that comes with someone hitting the right punchline at the right time disrupts stress with a hit of dopamine. In that moment, your brain shifts from a place of fear and resistance to a place of acceptance and creativity.
2. Introduction to new perspectives
When we laugh, it’s our brain’s way of saying “I’ve never looked at it that way before.” When we’re married to a certain status quo, the simple act of laughing triggers an unconscious questioning that reveals the fact that there is ALWAYS an opportunity to do the status quo better.
3. Introduction to new possibilities
When humor disrupts a pattern, it creates the possibility for a new pattern to form, and that new pattern leads to new questions and new ideas, opening up new outcomes that may not have even been considered possible previously.
4. Introduction to new paths
When we’re faced with stressful situations and fight-or-flight is kicking in, our response options become narrow. But if we’re acting from a place of openness to new possibilities built atop new perspectives, new choices arise. We could’ve made those choices before, but because we were in a state of fear or stress, we didn’t even realize they existed. Disrupting a pattern, using a new POV, and seeing new possible outcomes lowers stress levels, which unlocks new actions.
5. Activation of energy
When we laugh with others in the face of a problem, our brains release a cocktail of chemicals that make us feel good: dopamine, endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin. When we feel good, it shakes off the paralyzing effects of learned helplessness, and we become more motivated and clear-headed when tackling that problem. Before, new action may have felt scary. Now, we’re feeling energized by the new possibilities.
6. Connection with others
You know those people who have an uncanny ability to raise the frequency of a room? By leaning into humor and unlocking the above ripples, that person can be you. The energy we give off is contagious, so once you’ve interrupted previous patterns, seen new POVs, considered new possibilities, planned new, exciting action, and you’re energized by it, so is everyone else.
7. Openness to bombing
Even though you’re seeing a bigger picture and taking new action, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work perfectly. As with anything else, there will be errors to go with the trials, but approaching these errors with a sense of humor interrupts the negativity that often comes with mistakes and failures. Not only that, but making mistakes means you have new data that you can improve upon, so when mistakes are made, you learn faster. Plus, it makes your story way more interesting.
8. Discomfort with comfort
The world is changing faster than it ever has. With the onset of new technology, the interconnectedness the internet and social media have created, and a collective realization that things can always be better, disruptions to the status quo will be ever-present. Even if you solve one problem or achieve a big goal, there will always be something that can quickly disrupt your cloud nine like a bolt of lightning. Approaching these disruptions with curiosity instead of judgment are key components of using humor, just like they are key components of problem-solving, so keep disrupting disruptions, keep interrupting your patterns, and keep being perpetually curious, otherwise, good luck acting like those things aren’t happening.
