Everything from leadership to productivity can be dramatically improved by adding vantage points through humor. But what is it that causes people to find humor in some situations when others don’t? Positive genius. Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory suggests experiencing positive emotions expands people’s ability to use their intellectual resources productively. Your perception of reality determines your actions: If you see a path to a positive reality, your brain will be quicker to see humor in the negative events of your external world. Thus when you have a negative work environment, you can use humor as a strategic tool to help others see a more positive reality.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a stand-up comedian to use humor to foster positivity; you don’t even need to be the one making the jokes. You merely need to share or laugh at them.
PRO TIP: Make a list of funny lines from your favorite movies, books or TV shows and borrow those.