Life is supposed to be fun and easy but it doesn’t seem to feel that way. For most people, fun and easy experiences can be said to be few and far in between. At an early age, we were taught that life is a constant struggle to achieve our goals. Once we have achieved our goals, then we can enjoy more fun and easy days ahead.
There are a lucky few for whom having fun comes easy. Then there are other people who have the ability to make anything look fun while juggling life’s responsibilities. While the rest of us are struggling, why is it that some people are able to live their days less stressfully?
An obvious answer would be that these people are just not taking life too seriously. How can we do the same?
How Seriously Do You Take Life?
First, let us check how seriously do you take life? If you answer YES to half or more of these questions, then you are indeed taking everything way too seriously.
- Are you afraid of embarrassing yourself or looking silly?
- Are you unable to make jokes about yourself?
- Do you easily get offended by other people’s remarks or behavior towards you?
- Are you terrified of making a mistake?
- Are you overly self-conscious of how other people see you as?
- Do you always feel frustrated and stressed when things don’t go as you expected?
- Are you constantly worrying about the smallest things?
- Are you always thinking of what could go wrong in a given situation?
- Have you often been told that you “can’t take a joke” or that you “take things too personally”?
- Are you always thinking of a Plan B or C, etc., to combat uncertainty?
If you are taking things way too seriously, here are some reasons why you don’t have to do that.
Why You Shouldn’t Take Life Too Seriously
Life is Stranger Than Fiction
It just is. We all know this for a fact. Have you experienced coincidences, good or bad, which you can’t explain? Even scientists admit that there are so many things in the world that remain unexplainable or are yet to be explained.
There are so many coincidences between fiction novels and real life. Sometimes it is hard to say whether life is imitating art or art is imitating life.
The Rich Aren’t Always the Happiest
This is one fact of life we all cannot deny. The rich may look like they are capable of enjoying themselves to their heart’s content. But if you ask, most rich people would tell you that this is not so. It takes a lot of hard work to create and keep wealth. They may even have to work harder than their employees.
How many divorce lawsuits and scandals have you seen in the news lately? Which rich celebrities and public figures who everyone thought lived a fairytale story are struggling right now?
Worrying Is Not Productive
We know that we have limited time on this planet. We already spend a good amount of that time sleeping so why spend most of our waking time worrying? Have you ever got anything done just by worrying? Do you notice that worrying does not make you feel any better afterwards than when you started the process?
There are other reasons why you shouldn’t take life too seriously, but you get the drift. Consider this as a bad habit that you need to change. So now, what should you do so you can start taking everything less seriously?
You need to figure out what you’re being so serious for and why. Here are some questions you should ask every time you notice yourself start worrying and thinking about things too seriously.
Why So Serious?
- What exactly is worrying/irritating me right now?
- Is this worth getting upset over?
- Is this really so important right now?
- Will this even matter tomorrow?
- Will this significantly impact my life or is this just a minor inconvenience?
- Am I simply blowing things out of proportion?
- Is this even my problem at all?
- What’s a better and more productive way to respond to this situation?
The last question is an important one. It helps you react to the situation in a different way than you usually would. A change in perspective and a change in your reaction can result in a different scenario. Things could actually turn out be fun and easy instead of difficult and stressful.
How To Take Life Less Seriously
If you seriously want to be less anxious and stressed, start putting more fun into your life.
Laugh at your self.
Confront your fear of being embarrassed by doing it intentionally. If you know how to laugh at yourself, you lessen the chances of getting offended by other people. It doesn’t matter how ‘personal’ their joke gets.
You only become afraid of being the butt of other people’s jokes when you are unable to laugh at yourself. Practice being able to laugh at your own silliness. If you do something wrong, apologize sincerely but learn to laugh at yourself with others too.
Let things happen.
We take everything too seriously because we want to be able to control everything that happens to us. Perfectionists are always stressed out because of this reason. There will always be some things in life that just don’t go according to plan. When this happens, let it unfold and observe the results, then react accordingly.
Think of it as a learning opportunity instead of a threat to your plans. These situations will also show you that one mistake won’t kill you; but can help you do better the next time instead.
Add more humor into your life.
If laughing at yourself with other people seems a far-fetched concept for now; start by injecting more humor into your own life. You can start watching stand-up comedians and learn how they are able to make fun of themselves and situations.
Find something funny in different situations in your everyday experience. Recall something silly you did in the past. It may have embarrassed you at the time, but it might actually be funny now.
The longest study on happiness shows that good relationships are important to enjoying life. Get together with a funny friend and talk with them more. Get a feel of how their attitude is different to yours and learn from them.
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
— Elbert Hubbard
Life is short and taking it too seriously may make your life span even shorter. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Learn to have fun and look at the bright side of things. When you learn to do this, then you can count yourself among the lucky ones. The truly blessed ones are those who are able to have fun and enjoyment every day while still working hard to achieve their goals.
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