Not everyone knows how to accept their shortcomings with dignity and adequately evaluate themselves. This is quite easy for those who have self-irony. It has been noticed that the ability to laugh at oneself protects a person from negative manifestations, for example, disappointments, insults, and anxieties. Psychologists say that mastering the skill is useful, since healthy self-irony is a sign of a mature intellectual personality.
Self-irony helps a person to adequately relate to himself and not react to other people’s attacks
What is self-irony
What does self-irony mean? This is the ability to laugh at your own shortcomings, mistakes and mistakes. This is the ability to discuss shortcomings in a positive way, analyze them and learn lessons. Self-irony helps people avoid conflict situations, not be offended by criticism and remarks, and prevent humiliation. It protects against feelings of guilt, irritation, stress, and depression. In addition, this is a good opportunity to maintain self-esteem at the proper level.
In simple terms, self-irony means constructive, but at the same time positive criticism.
Self-irony has nothing to do with self-deprecation. Destructive humor is akin to self-reproach, unhealthy criticism, and insults. It can't be called casual. He does not defuse the situation, but, on the contrary, encourages others to feel sorry for the person. Behind self-humiliation, an individual hides a lack of confidence in himself and his strengths, a lack of acceptance of himself as an individual. Essentially, this is a comparison or reproach. Whereas a person with self-irony accepts himself with all his strengths and weaknesses.
Self-irony in psychology
In psychology, self-irony is a sign of the health and maturity of an individual. In addition, self-irony, according to psychologists, is a sign of high intelligence, strong self-confidence, and high self-esteem.
If a person can laugh at himself, for example, at his appearance or character, others will perceive him as an open and friendly interlocutor. They will trust him.
Self-irony in philosophy
Self-irony as a life position became popular in the 19th century. However, its origins date back to the time of Socrates. Generally speaking, for the figures of that period this ability was the essence of art (Zolger), the opposition to the expressed idea (Losev).
Irony: how to be ironic
Before defining what self-irony is, you should have a complete understanding of irony in general. It originated in Ancient Greece, where it began to be interpreted as “deception with words.” It is quite difficult to imagine simple society, psychology, philosophy and folk culture without such a significant concept. With the help of irony, every person is able to hint at the truth.
So, irony is subtle mockery. People who are interested in the essence of this concept should know that its main purpose is to contrast the real meaning of words with their literal meaning. Thus, a person will not be ironic when calling a coward “brave” and a fool “smart.” The opportunity to make fun not only of other people, but also of oneself, played a significant role in folk humorous culture, ancient comedy and satirical magazines. Many people are endowed with a similar oratorical technique, which allows them to hint about something in a hidden way.
Components of self-irony
So, what is self-irony? This is the ability to intelligently laugh at yourself. It consists of several personal qualities.
Striving to become better
A sense of self-irony encourages change. The desire for self-improvement is inherent in every person. Some people dream of career growth, while others, for example, athletes, care about their appearance. Other people strive for intellectual development. It doesn't matter what a person wants to improve. The main thing in this matter is not to stop, but to confidently move forward.
Ability to analyze
If a person learns to laugh at himself, it means that already at the subconscious level he sees his mistakes and shortcomings and strives to work on them. The main thing is to adequately assess and distribute the resources available for this.
The ability to analyze what is happening, as well as treat it with humor, helps in all areas of life.
Developed sense of humor
Not all life situations need to be taken seriously. In certain circumstances, humor is indispensable. It will help not only lift your mood. This way you will maintain the health of your nervous system.
What else does self-irony and good humor provide?
- Difficulties will not unsettle you.
- You will noticeably improve your health, because, as they say, “all illness comes from nerves.”
- You will have a desire to correct your shortcomings.
- The desire to blame others for troubles will disappear. You will understand that success depends entirely on you.
In addition, self-irony helps to cope with anxiety and fears that arise on the way to achieving goals.
Ability to cope with difficulties
According to psychologists, self-irony helps you make difficult decisions, act, and not stand still. This is not easy for some people to do. They lack the inner strength and courage to deal with serious difficulties. The ability to perceive everything with humor makes it possible to adequately analyze and evaluate the situation.
Taking responsibility
People who have the ability for self-irony know that they can solve any problem, even the most complex one. And this despite cases where the situation gets out of control. They always have hidden resources. They will help you not to lose heart on the path to success.
Taking responsibility
A person endowed with self-irony knows that he can correct the situation if it does not suit him. He is aware of his own resources and does not diminish them at all. Accepting responsibility is the most important thing that should be present in the arsenal of a mature personality
Whatever actions we take, it is important to always remember that for every step an individual will someday be accountable to society and himself
Thoughts about self-realization and the need to work on character come to the mind of every responsible individual. A sense of self-irony will not hurt here at all. What it is, an intelligent person begins to understand intuitively. When one wants to achieve something more than just mediocre rewards, the individual begins to take active steps
It is very important to choose the direction towards the desired goal. If something doesn’t work out right away, you need to look at what’s happening with a smile, not tears.
The benefits of self-irony
The ability to laugh at your shortcomings brings with it many advantages:
- You are reliably protected from groundless criticism from people around you, offensive phrases and barbs. What's the point of laughing at someone if they've already laughed at themselves?
- Humorous statements addressed to yourself will defuse the tense situation.
- If you have self-irony, you simply cannot be offended. Even if someone angrily criticizes you and your opinion, you will not take it to heart.
- Joking about shortcomings helps highlight strengths. You don't have to praise yourself and beg for compliments.
- A loyal attitude towards shortcomings encourages you to correct them and improve yourself. Those who take shortcomings too seriously usually do nothing to change the situation.
- Self-irony is a sign of an optimistic mindset. This skill will make your life easier.
Another undoubted advantage is attractiveness in the eyes of other people. A self-ironic person always looks friendly and attracts attention. This allows him to make many new acquaintances.
Sign of wisdom
The ability to look at a situation from the outside can also be called self-irony. It is a rare person who will not despair when he is often haunted by failures. One can only envy those individuals who strive to achieve perfection, despite visible obstacles. It is very difficult to continue to believe in your own prospects when everything is literally falling out of your hands. But from time to time, personal worlds are destroyed, nothing can be done about it. The tendency to self-irony is, of course, a sign of wisdom. The individual seems to be telling himself that he will focus only on the positive aspects.
Disappointments happen to everyone. But this does not mean at all that you need to focus on problems and stop noticing something good. The world around us is truly amazing, you just need to recognize and understand it. Most people don't even try to move. This is their biggest mistake. They stop in front of difficulties and do not even make attempts to overcome obstacles. Getting used to living only in experiences, they begin to perceive everything in a negative light. Even the smallest difficulties are perceived as a global catastrophe.
Examples of self-irony from your life
I used to be offended by jokes directed at me, caustic remarks regarding my actions, and criticism. I was already very shy. And in such situations, she completely closed herself off.
At some point I thought that I was missing something. Yes, it was the ability to laugh at oneself. And I started laughing at everything: awkward actions (“It turned out unusual this time”), at my then-overweight (“But it won’t be carried away by a strong wind”), etc.
Some may find such jokes unfunny or banal. But believe me, this is a great way to protect yourself from attacks from the outside. When you realize your shortcomings and mistakes, caustic remarks from other people no longer seem so offensive. Indeed, how can they humiliate or insult me if I not only know my problem, but have already even ridiculed it?
Intellectual maturity
The mental development of the individual is of great value. Self-irony is a sign of intelligence, it’s hard to argue with that. In fact, this quality is relatively rare. You need to have a certain intellectual maturity in order to consider the situation from the outside. Trying to make the necessary adjustments in your own life is actually not that easy. People tend to complain about fate, but at the same time they often do not want to change anything in depressing circumstances. After all, it is much easier to complain about general dissatisfaction with life than to try to fix something.
Taking any steps in the direction of your plans is always difficult. There is a great risk that you will be disappointed. But this is not a reason to refuse the necessary efforts.
Fighting guilt
When we are mistaken in something, a painful feeling arises in our soul. It is caused by a discrepancy between the efforts made and expectations, which for some reason did not come true. No one can enjoy feeling weak, defeated, or failed. The fight against guilt is self-irony. After all, you need to analyze your situation well and try to believe in the best. In fact, mistakes happen to everyone. There is nothing surprising or strange about this. This state of affairs in no way characterizes a person from the worst side. You just need to learn to deal with negativity and strive to direct efforts towards achieving your cherished goal.
