When, why, and how to laugh at your own mistakes! Laughing at yourself! When, why, and how to laugh at your own mistakes!

Wacky Drawing! Two students will come up and draw a picture below, following my requirements. Have two students pick up Expo markers, and then tell them they have to either switch drawing hands, close their eyes, or both. Have them draw something familiar, like a picture of their teacher. After, note that it’s a terrible drawing and that the two artists can laugh at themselves– because even though they weren’t perfect, they can laugh at life’s little failures.

Laughing at yourself- Defined When you make a social mistake, you can deal with it in three ways: 1. Get really upset at yourself and think of all the ways you suck 2. Ignore the mistake and probably make it again 3. Realize that you’re human and make mistakes. Learn from it and fix it for next time. If you choose option #3, you can also choose to laugh at yourself! Laughing at yourself means using humor to point out a social mistake or personal weakness.

Laughing at yourself can cause: Why? Laughing at yourself can cause: Others to feel more comfortable around you! Mistakes to feel less painful (emotionally) Enjoyment! It’s fun to laugh at yourself! Others can feel more comfortable around you when you can laugh at yourself because it lowers the pressure of the interaction. When you know that your classmates/friends/teachers aren’t perfect, you can feel better that you aren’t perfect. It makes making mistakes easier.

When? Laugh at yourself… After you make a small social mistake Ex: You fall down in the hallway while walking to class When you make a small physical mistake Ex: Dropping a box of scissors If someone is trying to make fun of you/be mean to you It takes away their power because you acknowledge your own weaknesses “laughing at yourself” doesn’t always literally mean “laughing.” It’s more like gently teasing yourself.

How? How to laugh at yourself Choose a public weakness Public = something that isn’t too private or personal Weakness = something you aren’t great at or an area in which you have made a mistake Use sarcasm or tell a story Don’t worry about looking like you’re not perfect at something. No one expects you to be perfect. Examples: Public weakness= talking a lot… Laughing at yourself= “I NEVER talk to my friends, so I DEFINITELY need help learning how to communicate.” or “Teacher, you can seat me by my best friend. I DEFINITELY won’t talk.” Public weakness = you just spilled your lunch all over your shirt…laughing at yourself= “No worries, I just wanted to save some food for later.” or “I thought my shirt needed a little more decoration.”

Crossing the line You can “go too far” when you are laughing at yourself You should not talk about private or socially sensitive subjects You should not say something to/about yourself that would be considered cruel if you said it to/about someone else While you are laughing at yourself, you should love yourself and be self-confident! You are awesome but you sometimes make mistakes.

Practice! For each description, show a non-example (getting mad at yourself or others) and an example of laughing at yourself! You meant to say “basically,” but you said “blasically” instead You asked for a pencil, but you said it quietly…and the teacher gave you some scissors instead You are hurrying down the hallway and stop on someone you have a crush on Your teacher tells your group of friends that you are all a little crazy today You call someone by the wrong name Someone tells you that you look awful today You just locked your keys in your car The non-examples can include negative self-talk or poor coping skills (like lashing out at others, stomping around, or yelling).

It’s ok to be embarrassed, but try not to take everything too seriously!