Famous Comedian Tom Papa Wants You to Know You’re Doing Great!
Jan 23, 2024
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Tom Papa, comedian and author, discusses channeling sensitivity into comedy, parenting kids with different struggles, and the impact of genetic makeup. He shares his experiences with psychedelics, how comedy can combat loneliness, and the power of allowing yourself to feel emotions. Mayim and Jonathan talk about mantras, personal growth, and the 3rd year of the podcast. They also explore making hala bread, cooking techniques, and the challenges of sleeping together.
Finding humor in life can alleviate loneliness and provide a cathartic experience.
Being emotionally available for children, even if their experiences differ from yours, is crucial.
Staying true to one's comedic style and delivering dense laughter is important in the evolving landscape of comedy.
Deep dives
The Importance of Finding Humor
The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding humor in life, even in difficult situations. They believe that humor can help alleviate feelings of loneliness and provide a cathartic experience. The speaker shares that they have always found things to be funny and observing life's hilarity has become a way of living for them.
Learning from Personal Experiences
The speaker reflects on their upbringing, where their grandparents instilled the belief of facing challenges with a positive outlook. They learned to not let the heaviness of life drag them down and instead embrace the enjoyment as much as possible. The speaker attributes their ability to find humor even in painful situations to this mindset.
Navigating Parenthood Challenges
The speaker describes their experience of raising children who experience emotions differently than they do. They express the challenges of understanding and supporting their children when their own perspective may be different. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being there for their children and allowing them to go through their experiences, even if they don't fully understand.
The Evolution of Comedy and Personal Style
The speaker acknowledges that their comedic style is more traditional and joke-oriented compared to newer styles of comedy that focus on confessional and less joke-driven performances. They discuss the changing landscape of comedy, where traditional gatekeepers no longer dictate success, and anyone can find an audience through platforms like YouTube. They reflect on the importance of staying true to one's own style and delivering dense laughter to their audience.
The Power of Love and Supportive Relationships
The podcast episode features a conversation with Tom Papa, a comedian, who discusses the importance of love, connection, and support in his life. He emphasizes the value of being emotionally available for his wife and children and acknowledges the role his upbringing and parents played in shaping his attitude towards relationships. Papa shares stories of his experiences with love, including the bond he shares with his wife and the impact of losing close friends. He believes that love is real, despite the potential for heartbreak, and finds comfort in the cathartic nature of his comedic performances.
Embracing Positivity and Overcoming Anxiety
Tom Papa reflects on his positive attitude and the way he approaches life. He discusses his resilience and determination in the face of challenges, including his tendency to embody a positive mindset. Papa acknowledges that he, like everyone else, faces anxiety and fears, but he has come to accept them and manages them through personal practices like transcendental meditation. He addresses his experience with self-medicating in his youth, mentioning that substance use helped open his perspective but got in the way of his comedic abilities. Ultimately, meeting his wife led to positive changes in his life and he discovered the path to happiness includes love, deep connection, and embracing the present moment.
Tom Papa (stand-up comedian, author of We’re All In This Together…..So Make Some Room) is in the MBB studio to chat about channeling his artist sensitivity into comedy and hilarious emotional processing with his wife before bed that leaves him unable to sleep! He opens up about what it’s like being known as “the nice guy” in comedy, how to parent kids who struggle with something you’ve never struggled with, and why he’s never gone to therapy. Tom considers genetic makeup vs modeled affirmations in coping with life’s struggles, the empathy he feels for those struggling with genetic predispositions, and why it became easier to take care of himself after he had kids. He explains how psychedelics gave him new perspective but got in the way of his humor, the effect the “cathartic experience” of comedy can have on loneliness, and how allowing yourself to feel emotions can remove fear associated with the situation. Mayim and Jonathan discuss how mantras can rewire your brain and how they’ve evolved personally and together in the 3rd year of the podcast!
