19. I Won a Stand-Up Comedy Competition… Then Slowly Lost My Sense of Humor

What happens when you win a stand-up comedy competition… and then slowly lose your sense of humor? In this solo episode of Laugh or Death, I'm sharing the story behind the two framed comedy posters hanging in my studio. They're from two stand-up competitions I won 23 years apart. But honestly, this episode isn't really about winning. It's about everything that happened in between. When I was 23, I was in graduate school, stressed out, overworked, and taking life way too seriously. Comedy became one of the things that helped me get through it. I tried stand-up for the first time at a house party, started doing open mics, and eventually won a local comedy competition in Denver. And then I made the mistake of deciding I needed to take comedy VERY seriously. Which, looking back, is kind of the fastest way to ruin comedy. I started overthinking every joke. A bad set could completely derail me. I stopped enjoying the process. Eventually, I quit doing comedy altogether… and I even stopped watching it because I couldn't stop comparing myself to other people. I had completely lost the plot. Over the years, I started realizing that humor wasn't just something I enjoyed. It was actually an important part of my mental health and wellbeing. Through therapy, research, improv, working with students, and a few ridiculous real-life moments — including spilling an entire Dr Pepper on my pants before a serious meeting — I learned that carrying yourself a little more lightly can change everything. In this episode, I also talk about the way humor helped me through hard seasons, including COVID, losing most of what we owned in a house fire, and moving somewhere new without an established community. Eventually, I found my way back to improv, stand-up comedy, and a much healthier relationship with laughter. This time, I wasn't trying to prove anything. I close the episode with a few lessons I wish I could go back and give my 23-year-old self: Your competition may actually be your community. Stop comparing your insides to other people's outsides. Don't live your life like an actor in a drama only to reach the end and realize you were the director… and it could have been a comedy. If you've ever taken life, work, or even something you love way too seriously… this episode is for you. And here's a line I keep coming back to: "You don't stop laughing because you get old. You get old because you stop laughing." 🎙 Listen to the full episode of Laugh or Death with Paul Osincup wherever you get your podcasts.   Links: If you enjoyed this episode and want to build your own humor habit, make sure to follow the podcast and share it with someone who could use a little more levity in their life. To learn more about Paul's work, book him for speaking engagements, or explore the science behind humor and resilience, visit: 👉 https://www.paulosincup.com You can also dive deeper into the tools discussed in this episode in Paul's book: 👉 The Humor Habit   Episode Minute-By-Minute: 00:00 – Winning two comedy competitions 23 years apart 01:15 – Why Paul hates stand-up comedy competitions 02:15 – Graduate school, stress & discovering stand-up 03:45 – Paul's first stand-up set at a house party 05:20 – The Crocodile Hunter joke that somehow worked 06:15 – When comedy became too serious 07:15 – Bombing at a pizza-place open mic 08:00 – Quitting comedy and losing the plot 09:00 – Why even watching comedy became difficult 10:00 – Therapy, Colorado & rediscovering levity 11:00 – The science behind humor and wellbeing 12:00 – Why humor is like exercise 13:30 – How improv helped Paul stop overthinking 14:15 – Taking another serious job too seriously 15:15 – Realizing he could not bottle up who he was 16:00 – Becoming better at work by becoming lighter 18:00 – Humor as an olive branch 19:45 – Fake tattoos, eyeliner & staying sane 20:30 – Finding community through comedy in Montana 21:30 – Returning to stand-up without taking it too seriously 22:15 – Winning Montana's Funniest Person 24:00 – Three lessons for his 23-year-old self 24:30 – Your competition might be your community 26:00 – Stop comparing your insides to other people's outsides 27:00 – Chronic seriousness & the comedy IV drip 28:30 – You do not stop laughing because you get old