One Day You’ll Laugh at This. Here’s How to Get There Faster.

Written By Colin Ryan

AKA I Sold 20 Copies of My Book. Here’s Why I’m Grateful for That Setback.

I’d like to introduce you to a surprising / amazing life skill… I describe it as The Secret Superpower of Comedians…

The Secret Superpower of Comedians: Turning Suffering into Story

Picture this:

You’re in a doctor’s office getting bad news, and one tiny part of your brain whispers:

“This is going to be a great story someday.”

If that sounds slightly unhinged… you’re not wrong. 😅

But it’s also one of the most powerful mindset shifts I ever learned from stand‑up comedy.

When I started doing stand‑up, I learned two things very quickly:

1. Details are what make things funny.

2. Suffering is funny and relatable.

You know what’s not funny?

“My life’s amazing, I’m making tons of money, my relationship is perfect, my house is huge…”

You tune out instantly, right? There’s nothing to grab onto. No friction. No flaw. No humanity.

Comedy and connection live in the moments where things don’t go according to plan.

The Problem with “One Day We’ll Laugh About This”

You’ve probably heard the quote: “One day we’ll look back on this and laugh.”

From an unhealthy perspective, that sounds like something embroidered on a throw pillow in a house you quickly realize belongs to an actual sociopath. I mean, who thinks like that?!

But the healthy version is powerful:

  • One day, the suffering will have de‑intensified.

  • You’ll remember it was a rough time, but you won’t feel every second of it anymore.

  • It might even feel like a turning point—one you couldn’t recognize from inside the moment.

That’s the space comedians live in: they take painful, awkward, humbling experiences and turn them into stories that connect, comfort, and entertain.

And you don’t have to be a comedian to do the same.

The Comedian’s Trick: Capture the Details

Here’s the tool I want you to try: Suffer like a comedian.

That doesn’t mean you go looking for misery. Life’s got that covered. (You can’t spell “Adulthood” without “L”.)

It means that when you’re in a tough moment, you pay attention to the details:

  • What’s one sentence that perfectly captures the discomfort/suffering in this scene?

  • What’s the ridiculous little detail no one would believe and is too good to be true?

  • What would you write down if this were a chapter in your story?

You can literally write it down, or just mentally note it like a comedian would. The goal is not to become a writer or to craft the perfect joke.

The goal is to remember: You are in a story, not just a bad experience.

That shift—from “This is pointless” to “This is a moment of growth”—changes everything.

My 2.5-Year Book Disaster

Here’s a recent favorite (painful) example from my own life. (I have plenty, so we’ll just look at a recent one):

I spent two and a half years writing a book.

By the release date, I had sold… (wait for it)… 20 copies.

But I wasn’t worried. I have a list of 1,500 people I’ve met through my career as a financial speaker.

So I emailed 1,500 people about my new book.

Guess how many copies I sold from that email?

Zero.

So now the honest, unflattering sentence is:

“I spent two and a half years writing a book that only my friend Robin at the YMCA bought—and Amazon took half the money.”

That could feel purely like failure.

Or…

It can feel like the beginning of a story:

  • What does the character do now?

  • Do they give up?

  • Or do they find some persistence, some humor, some humanity in this moment of setback?

The facts don’t change.

But the role you play in your own story does.

Why This Matters (Even If You Never Touch a Microphone)

When you “suffer like a comedian,” a few powerful things happen:

  • Your experiences stop feeling random and pointless.

  • You start to notice growth and progress, even in the hard chapters.

  • You gain stories you can share as vulnerability, encouragement, or yes, even for others’ entertainment.

  • You become a better listener, because you recognize those similar themes (expectation, setback, discouragement, persistence/resilience being tested) in other people’s stories too.

You don’t have to turn every hard thing into a punchline.

But you can turn it into meaning.

Your Turn! Try This…

Think of something in your life right now that feels frustrating, disappointing, or just plain unfair.

Now ask yourself:

  • If this were a scene in a movie, what would the camera zoom in on?

  • What’s one sentence that would capture this moment?

  • If this becomes a story you tell one day, what might this be the *beginning* of?

  • When I look back on this, I get to be curious to know not just “How did I suffer?” but “How did I grow?”

You don’t have to laugh about it today. In fact, maybe don’t. 😄

But if you can notice the details, you’re already moving from “I’m just suffering” to “I’m going somewhere right now, and this part will make sense later.”

Suffer like a comedian.

One day, you will look back on this and laugh. We both know it.

About Colin Ryan

Colin Ryan, CPFC is the author of A Comedic Guide to Money and Epic Tiny Victories, a featured storyteller on NPR and The Moth Radio Hour, and a nationally recognized speaker on financial education, communication, and behavioral change.

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