You should be more silly

Everyday life is full of important decisions. Finding the right word, buying the right thing, seizing opportunities; all of it comes out of the blue and will be gone in a flash if we hesitate for a moment. Predictably, most of us realize how important those decisions are and take them with the utmost seriousness. That seems a mistake to me. Taking things less seriously can have a great impact on your quality of life. Life is silly and so should you. Let me explain why.

It‘s all in your head

Taking things seriously can take a toll on us. Our modern view makes us feel watched, constrained and stressed. All of it can be avoided and the first step to do so is to realize that the impact of our choices begins in how we decide to take them. Yes, many decisions have an impact on our lives, but you would be surprised at how many things can be accounted for while still staying true to your goals. In fact, taking such things as modest as they really are will benefit you mentally.

Being a bit more silly will trigger an automatic hormonal response whatever the situation. Whether it is by laughter, play or general goofiness, your stress level will be reduced. Your mood will also light up and better match up with the expression you take. The more you smile, the more you will be happy. This is why we sometimes see people laugh unconsciously when faced with the worst situations. Laughter can act as a coping mechanism. Using it more liberally can help you leverage its benefits. There is even some evidence that such acts can help lower blood pressure and help regulate the immune system.

The happiness habit

Being silly not only helps reduce stress response but also your emotional load. We have more and more evidence that we can literally laugh our worries away. Such forms of release are a powerful tool that we should use more. What‘s more, the habit of being silly will boost your emotional resilience. By taking ourselves less seriously, we reduce the weight of our expectations which our body can inherently learn as a habit. In that way, when you encounter real serious stuff, your body will tend to trigger a positive emotional response that will help you keep a clear head.

That habit of being silly (which you can learn) has other advantages too. Yes, it will help keep a positive mindset, but that also implies that you will inherently better push back negative thoughts. Harmful self-talk is sadly a condition that many of us are not sufficiently equipped to fight against. Sillyness will help here. Paradoxically, not taking yourself too seriously helps accept your setbacks, leading to better and more accurate self-esteem. 

We often associate silliness with childhood. Well, this link isn‘t unreasonable. Nothing will help you better embrace your inner child‘s joy and wonder than some silliness from time to time. Feel free to play more meaningless games. Learning to not worry too much about every little thing will also lead you to appreciate them better. Nobody is a good observer when they feel personally attacked.

Sillyness as a tool

But outside of your well-being, silliness can actually have concrete benefits in your life, even help you solve those problems that make you oh so serious. Being open to silliness is accepting to get out of your comfort zone, to take another view. As such, it is a great way to foster creative thinking and dig up unique solutions to your problems. Stepping away from traditional structured thinking is the first step into new ideas. Some of the most outlandish (at the time) inventions began has silly ideas, including lightbulbs and the television.

Furthermore, a carefree approach to life can be a great book for your relationships. It‘s simple: people intuitively want to spend more time with people who look happy. So, not only making the effort to look happy will help make you feel joy, but people will be more light-hearted with you as well. A dose of silliness reduces the social tension a grumpy face can bring, helping break social barriers and promoting shared experiences. Let‘s not forget that putting people in unexpected situations is the best way to better know their true character. I guarantee that by being more open to experiences you will be surprised at how much you will learn about your close ones.

Here‘s one to you

In my mind, silliness is a landmark sign of well-being. Allowing yourself the space and time to be silly is essential to maintain, balance, positivity and resilience in life. I encourage you one last time to take a break and make fun of yourself. Need some ideas? Why not play hide and seek? Avoid specific things on the ground. Count how many people with hats you see today. Jump on eggs. Will it be meaningless? Yes, of course. That‘s exactly the point.

In any case, see you next time.