A few months ago I watched a video that talked about how a sophisticated sense of humor is doom. What you needed, it said, was to lower the bar and laugh, laugh, laugh at all the jokes. People who laugh a lot have more fun, people like them, and they have much more enjoyable interactions. I decided to figure out how to laugh more, and so I've been literally forcing myself. Every morning. I'm eight days in.

I laugh on my early morning bike ride as a daily practice. I go ho ho ho ho ho, ha ha ha ha, he he he he, repeat. Until I can barely breathe. Sometimes I try to imitate laughs that I've heard. Sometimes I sound like a maniac. Other times like santa claus. Sometimes it's hard. It makes my abs hurt, especially in the first few days. I'ts made me realize that laughter is just as much a muscle that needs to be worked just like anything else. The fact that people don't laugh is, in part, because they haven't worked their laughing muscles. This makes laughing a chore. Work that muscle and laughing simply comes.

Yesterday I was chatting up a girl and I found it much easier to laugh longer, deeper, heartier. It's like my laughing had a better quality to it. I got her number! Today, just a few minutes ago, one of my clients told a dumb joke and I laughed long. Now I feel like I want excuses to laugh. My body wants it. It's making me happier overall, more magnetic, more likeable, more approachable. It starts out my day on a positive note that continues throughout the day. If anyone is looking for ways to lower their approach anxiety, for becoming a better person, I suggest trying it out.