Humor Being to the Rescue During Challenging Times

Let’s talk humor being to the rescue during challenging times. Let me ask you something. When was the last time you laughed — really laughed — in the middle of a stressful workday? If you’re struggling to remember, you’re not alone. And if you think laughter is a luxury you can’t afford when times get tough, I’m here to tell you that you’ve got it exactly backwards.

In fact, humor being to the rescue during challenging times isn’t just a catchy phrase. It’s a proven mindset strategy — and one that has saved my career, my relationships, and, on more than a few occasions, my sanity.

Let me explain what I mean.

Humor Being to the Rescue During Challenging Times: What Exactly Is a “Humor Being”?

Before we go any further, let me clarify something important. Being a Humor Being is not about being funny. It’s not about cracking jokes in the boardroom or doing a stand-up routine for your team. Rather, it’s about choosing — deliberately and consistently — to see the lighter side of life, even when circumstances conspire to drag you down.

I spent over 18 years as a national headline comedian, sharing stages with Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ellen DeGeneres, among others. But even after I walked away from comedy at the peak of my career to become a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, the single most powerful tool I carried with me wasn’t a slick PowerPoint or a rehearsed speech. It was humor. More specifically, it was the conscious decision to use humor as a lens through which to view every obstacle, setback, and challenge.

That’s what a Humor Being does. And here’s why that matters more than ever for business owners and professionals today. Let’s explore more about humor being to the rescue during challenging times.

The Real Cost of Taking Everything Too Seriously

Think about the last major challenge your business faced — a lost client, a failed campaign, a team conflict, an economic downturn. Now ask yourself: how did you show up? Did you show up rigid, reactive, and full of doom? Or were you able to find even a small sliver of perspective that helped you breathe, think more clearly, and move forward?

Here’s the truth that most business culture refuses to acknowledge: when we take everything too seriously, we dramatically shrink our ability to solve problems. Furthermore, excessive stress narrows our cognitive bandwidth, making it harder to think creatively, communicate effectively, and lead with confidence. Science backs this up. Research has shown that humor and laughter reduce cortisol levels, boost dopamine and serotonin, and actually expand our capacity for creative thinking.

So, as a leader or professional, the question isn’t whether you can afford to laugh during tough times. The real question is: can you afford not to?

How Humor Rescued Me — and Can Rescue You

I wasn’t born a motivational speaker. In fact, a high school guidance counselor told me I didn’t have the intelligence for college. A few years later, my classmates voted me “Least Likely to Succeed.” Looking back, I could have let those labels define me. Instead — and I didn’t fully realize it at the time — I used humor as a coping mechanism, a resilience tool, and ultimately a professional superpower.

Later, when I transitioned from comedy to the speaking world, I made a critical mistake in my very first showcase. I tried to sound like a “serious motivational speaker.” I came in dead last out of 23 speakers. It wasn’t until I leaned back into my authentic humor that buyers immediately started hiring me. The lesson was profound: my humor wasn’t a distraction from my message. It was the message.

That insight translates directly to your business life, too. When you show up to a crisis with rigidity and fear, you repel solutions. In contrast, when you approach challenges with a mindset that is flexible, curious, and even lightly amused by the absurdity of it all, you open a door that stress keeps firmly shut. It’s all about humor being to the rescue during challenging times

Humor Being as a Leadership Strategy

Here’s where I want to speak directly to business owners and professionals: humor in leadership is not a soft skill. It is a strategic skill.

Think about the leaders you have admired most throughout your career. Chances are good that they weren’t stone-faced or unapproachable. More likely, they had a warmth, a wit, and a capacity to disarm tension in a room. That quality didn’t happen by accident. It was a skill — cultivated, practiced, and deployed with intention.

Moreover, when leaders use humor appropriately, something powerful happens to their teams. Engagement goes up. Trust builds faster. People feel safe enough to bring their real ideas — and their real problems — to the table. In other words, humor creates psychological safety, which is one of the most critical drivers of high-performing teams, according to Google’s famous Project Aristotle study.

So, if you want your team to innovate, communicate honestly, and weather storms together, consider the radical idea of lightening up. Not because the challenges aren’t real — they absolutely are — but because humor gives your people permission to stay human in the middle of them.

Humor Being to the Rescue During Challenging Times: Practical Ways to Activate Your Humor Being

Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “Steve, I’m not naturally funny. This isn’t for me.” I hear you — and I respectfully disagree. Being a Humor Being isn’t about comedic talent. It’s about perspective. Here are some practical ways to begin activating yours, even under pressure:

Shift the label on the situation. Every challenging situation has a storyline you tell yourself about it. The next time something goes sideways in your business, try asking: “If I were telling this story at a dinner party five years from now, what would be funny about it?” That small mental shift can break the emotional grip of the moment and give you room to respond rather than just react.

Build in recovery humor. This means allowing yourself and your team a brief, genuine laugh before diving back into problem-solving mode. A quick, shared laugh is not a sign of disrespect toward the seriousness of a situation. Instead, it’s a neurological reset that improves decision-making. Think of it as a mental palate cleanser.

Collect your personal comedy bank. I’ve been building mine for decades. It’s a mental (or physical) collection of moments, stories, and observations that make you smile — things that remind you of your humanity. When stress hits, you can draw from that bank to shift your internal state.

Don’t confuse gravity with importance. Some leaders believe that the heavier they act, the more seriously people will take the issue at hand. However, the opposite is often true. Gravity without lightness creates paralysis. Leaders who can hold the weight of a serious situation and still move with energy and even humor are the ones people actually follow into the difficult work.

Humor Being to the Rescue During Challenging Times: When the Stakes Are Highest, Humor Matters Most

I’ve spoken to Fortune 500 companies, healthcare organizations, sales teams, and associations across the globe. And without exception, the moments in which my audiences have most needed to laugh were the moments they were most resistant to it.

That resistance makes sense — when we’re under pressure, we instinctively tighten up. Nevertheless, tightening up is exactly what makes bad situations worse. The research supports this, and so does every high-performing athlete, surgeon, and leader I’ve ever studied. The ability to stay loose, to find a moment of levity, to keep perspective — that’s what separates the people who crack under pressure from the ones who rise to meet it.

In other words, humor being to the rescue during challenging times is not a punchline. It’s a practice. And like any practice, it gets stronger the more you commit to it.

Humor Being to the Rescue During Challenging Times: The Bottom Line: Attitude Is Everything

At the core of everything I teach is a deceptively simple truth: no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, you have the power to choose your attitude. That doesn’t mean pretending problems don’t exist. It doesn’t mean toxic positivity or forced smiles. Rather, it means building a foundation inside yourself — a mindset, a set of habits, a way of relating to hardship — that refuses to let any situation take away your ability to think, feel, and act from your best self.

Humor is one of the most direct and accessible roads to that foundation. It short-circuits negative thinking before it can spiral. It reconnects you to what matters. And it reminds you — and everyone around you — that you are bigger than whatever challenge is in front of you.

That is what it means to be a Humor Being. Not someone who laughs at problems — but someone who refuses to be destroyed by them.

So the next time your business gets hit with a curveball — and it will — I want you to remember this: you don’t have to get serious to get everything you want out of life. In fact, getting serious might be exactly what’s getting in your way.

Your Humor Being is in there. It’s time to let it out.

Steve Rizzo is a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, former national headline comedian, and author of Becoming a Humor Being and Motivate THIS! He has delivered his Common Sense Success Strategies to Fortune 500 companies and associations worldwide. Learn more at steverizzo.com.