Laughing at yourself is a hard humor skill to develop, however there are some steps to follow to be able to strategically desensitize yourself:
<ul>
<li>Figure out what's funny for you and surround yourself with more of it</li>
<li>Liste down the things you don't like about yourself</li>
<li>Arrange the list from least sensitive to most, then read it to someone before cracking jokes</li>
<li>Come up with a few self-referential jokes from the least sensitive until you work yourself up to the most.</li>
</ul>

Laughing At Yourself

If you do not have the right mindset to perform or develop this humor (laughing at yourself), then you will most likely only end up depressed, angry, and end up with lower self-esteem.
The underlying mindset to have should be playful and aim to make self-deprecating jokes instead of self-disparaging ones. Sometimes it also okay to keep the jokes for yourself, it doesn't always have to be performative.

A Word To The Wise: Not All Laughter Is Beneficial

<figure><img alt="" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/14/magazine/14mag-tip-image1/14mag-tip-image1-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/14/magazine/14mag-tip-image1/14mag-tip-image1-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w, https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/14/magazine/14mag-tip-image1/14mag-tip-image1-jumbo-v2.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/14/magazine/14mag-tip-image1/14mag-tip-image1-superJumbo-v2.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1179w" width="600" height="256"><figcaption dir="auto">Credit...
Illustration by Radio</figcaption></figure>By Malia Wollan<UL><LI><time datetime="2019-04-09T05:00:01-04:00">April 9, 2019</time></LI></UL>“Laughing at yourself is one of the hardest humor skills,” says Jennifer Hofmann, a researcher at the University of Zurich who studies laughter and emotional expression. How easily you can do so will depend in part on your disposition. If you tend to be dour, you can learn to be funnier with practice. (Or don’t — and risk developing what one humor scientist has termed “terminal seriousness.”) In one of Hofmann’s studies, subjects underwent two months of a well-known seven-step humor training program. Laughing at yourself was the penultimate step (what Hofmann calls “Olympic level” humor). Before trying it, first figure out what you think is funny and surround yourself with more of it. When it’s time to laugh at yourself, be prepared for an unpleasant task: You need to list the things you don’t like about yourself — maybe you’re insecure about your body or dislike your lisp. Arrange the list from least sensitive to most, then read it to someone before you start cracking jokes (researchers believe this vulnerability exercise greases the wheels for future levity). Next, come up with a few self-referential jokes about the less weighty stuff and eventually work your way up to the more painful things. “Strategically desensitize yourself,” Hofmann says.Though research suggests laughter has a vast range of positive physiological and psychological outcomes — some medical providers even prescribe laughter to their patients — not all laughter is beneficial. Your underlying mind-set should be playful. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between self-deprecating and self-disparaging humor. Aim for the former. If you laugh at yourself and then feel worse, more depressed, angrier, with lowered self-esteem, it’s safe to assume you’re not doing it right. “You want to build the capacity to look at yourself and your mishaps in a benevolent way and be amused,” Hofmann says. You may find you actually enjoy being laughed at by other people, a phenomenon known as gelotophilia. If not, that’s fine, too — it doesn’t need to be performative to be beneficial. As Hofmann says: “Laughing at yourself can be just for you.”Advertisement

Make a list of things you don’t like about yourself. Crack jokes about the less-painful stuff first. Be self-deprecating, not self-disparaging.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

entertainment

Entertainment

By Malia Wollan

<ul><li><time datetime="2019-04-09T05:00:01-04:00">April 9, 2019 </time> </li> </ul>

“Laughing at yourself is one of the hardest humor skills,” says Jennifer Hofmann, a researcher at the University of Zurich who studies laughter and emotional expression. How easily you can do so will depend in part on your disposition. If you tend to be dour, you can learn to be funnier with practice. (Or don’t — and risk developing what one humor scientist has termed “terminal seriousness.”) In one of Hofmann’s studies, subjects underwent two months of a well-known seven-step humor training program. Laughing at yourself was the penultimate step (what Hofmann calls “Olympic level” humor). Before trying it, first figure out what you think is funny and surround yourself with more of it. When it’s time to laugh at yourself, be prepared for an unpleasant task: You need to list the things you don’t like about yourself — maybe you’re insecure about your body or dislike your lisp. Arrange the list from least sensitive to most, then read it to someone before you start cracking jokes (researchers believe this vulnerability exercise greases the wheels for future levity). Next, come up with a few self-referential jokes about the less weighty stuff and eventually work your way up to the more painful things. “Strategically desensitize yourself,” Hofmann says.

Though research suggests laughter has a vast range of positive physiological and psychological outcomes — some medical providers even prescribe laughter to their patients — not all laughter is beneficial. Your underlying mind-set should be playful. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between self-deprecating and self-disparaging humor. Aim for the former. If you laugh at yourself and then feel worse, more depressed, angrier, with lowered self-esteem, it’s safe to assume you’re not doing it right. “You want to build the capacity to look at yourself and your mishaps in a benevolent way and be amused,” Hofmann says. You may find you actually enjoy being laughed at by other people, a phenomenon known as gelotophilia. If not, that’s fine, too — it doesn’t need to be performative to be beneficial. As Hofmann says: “Laughing at yourself can be just for you.”

How to Laugh at Yourself

Laughing At Yourself

A Word To The Wise: Not All Laughter Is Beneficial

Related collections

Other curated ideas on this topic: