This is Johanna Rothman’s November 2026 Create an Adaptable Life newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom.
Every so often, I have trouble sleeping. Instead of saying, “I have insomnia,” I say, “I’ve been practicing my insomnia.” It’s the same idea, but with a contrarian perspective. Not just a contrarian perspective, but one that shows a sense of humor.
When I wrote that in a small community, I learned I wasn’t the only one who giggled at that practicing statement. Several other people in that community told me they hadn’t thought of it in that way. The contrarian approach made them laugh, too.
Humor requires some surprise. Life is certainly full of surprises that range from welcome to unwelcome. While we can’t choose our life surprises, we can sometimes choose how to respond.
That’s why I like to use a contrarian view to reinforce that surprise with a sense of humor. My sense of humor helps challenge me to increase my adaptability and resilience.
What Would It Take for You To Develop a Contrarian View?
When I think about contrarian views and a sense of humor, I consider these options:
- What is “everyone else” doing? Is there anything surprising to me about that “normal” perspective?
- Since I’m not big on staying in lock-step with “everyone,” how can I spin that surprise to a contrarian view? Does that make sense?
- Alternatively, can I spin that surprise to something humorous?
While I tend to be a bit suspicious of the “everyone” or “normal” perspectives, people are not always wrong.
On the other hand (a contrarian perspective), few of us are totally correct.
Here’s the interesting part for me: Often, my contrarian perspectives arise from the bit of “correct” in the “normal” perspective, balanced by a different opinion. For example, I’m writing a book about continual planning. Some plans are good. The contrarian part is when the planning overwhelms all the other development and finishing work. Yes, that happens now, and it’s terrible.
The humor arises when we see the surprise, the contrast. For that book, it’s the surprise when we realize that our planning gets in the way of our making.
Surprises Matter for Humor
Life is way too short to be serious about everything, all the time. Sure, there are times when we should be serious. However, that’s not every single day.
The more we encourage surprise, the more we might find some humor in our situation. For me, that’s about seeing something differently, a contrarian perspective. You might find that contrarian perspective also helps you see alternatives, not just keep your sense of humor.
Because here’s the most important thing I know: Life is worth living—even if I do continue to practice my insomnia. And while sometimes, there is wisdom in crowds, sometimes we need to find a contrarian perspective. That perspective allows us to use our sense of humor to keep life fun and funny.
Read More & Links of Interest
New to the newsletter? See previous issues. (I post these newsletters to my YouTube Channel a few days after I send them.)
Here are other links you might find useful:
- Create an Adaptable Life Blog to see the weekly question.
- My Books.
- My store.
- Managing Product Development Blog
- My Substack about living with (as opposed to dying of) cancer.
- Johanna’s Fiction
- Tip Jar. (My newsletters will remain free. And I do want to offer you an option for you to show how much you value my work.)
Till next time,
Johanna
© 2026 Johanna Rothman