Why don't I laugh like I used to, even though life is good?
Ten years ago you laughed more. Life was not easier then. It might have been harder. But something in you has gone quiet in a place that used to make noise. A man once asked Hodja, 'Why do you always look so serious now?' Hodja said, 'Let me tell you. Years ago I was invited to my neighbor's uncle's funeral. I practiced my saddest face the whole walk there, so I would arrive properly grieving. I got the house wrong. It was a wedding, next door. I cried through three toasts and a dance before anyone noticed.' The man asked, 'What happened then?' Hodja said, 'I kept the face. It had taken so long to learn. Seemed wasteful to put it down.' Maybe you learned your serious face for a real reason once — a hard season, a job, a worry that needed watching. The season passed. The face stayed. This page will help you notice you're still wearing it, and try taking it off, just to see.
You did not lose your laugh. You put on a serious coat for one hard season, and never took it off. Now you wear it to breakfast, to the store, to bed. Nobody asked you to keep wearing it. Go check if it still fits.
What changes unlock by starting
- You catch yourself mid-seriousness and laugh at catching yourself.
- You find one old thing that still makes you laugh, and do it again on purpose.
- You can tell the difference between seriousness you need and seriousness you're just wearing out of habit.
- You laugh out loud in front of someone before the week is out — on purpose, not by accident.