Picture this: It’s about 6:30 in the evening and I’m walking to meet my friend at the coffee shop and, unofficially, my second home, Espresso Royale. I’m wearing nothing exciting: some leggings, an over-sized t-shirt, and a baseball cap. My socks that have the phrase “ringmaster of the shit show” were also visibly showing out of my gym shoes. Needless to say, I was crushing the fashion game.
As I spot her a half a block away, I start dancing to get her attention. Badly. The type of dancing that gets you internet famous. Of course, she did not see the wonderful performance I was putting on for her. Instead, the cars on 4th St. waiting for the light to turn got first row seats to the atrocity that was my dancing.
Now, what I just explained was more or less an embarrassing story. Many people in my shoes, or socks for this matter, would be mortified. And as embarrassing as it was, I was ok with it.
Throughout my 19 years, what I come to realize is that there will be embarrassing things are going to happen to you. Some are more prone to this than others (like myself).
This is just how life works.
Unless you are a robot, you are going to dance like an idiot in public or trip going up the stairs. This is just about being human. As trivial as that sounds, I’ve noticed that many have a hard time with not taking themselves too seriously. While I believe that there are times where it is important to take yourself seriously, it does not mean that you have to do that for every waking moment of the day.
I used to struggle with this. Oftentimes, I was told I was “too serious” or I needed to “laugh more.” I would get easily angered by things that I really didn’t have control over, like accidentally spilling coffee on my sweater. Things that do not matter in the long run. I think oftentimes we as individuals associate seriousness with respect.
There is a notion that in order to be respected, by others or by yourself, you have to carry yourself in a serious manner. However, that is just not true.
There are plenty other ways of carrying yourself in a respectable way that does not involve getting easily embarrassed by little things.
When I stopped taking myself too seriously, I was able to find better ways to carry myself in a way that ended up making me respect myself more and emulating that respect amongst others in my life. There is something about learning to laugh at yourself that brings you to peace with yourself. It not only shows others that you are comfortable being who you are, but it also reaffirms what makes you so unique and wonderful.
Being able to laugh at yourself also makes life way more enjoyable.
It is absolutely inevitable that we as individuals are going to embarrass ourselves during our lifetime. Trying to avoid that inevitability is only going to add more stress and negative energy to your life. Instead, add to the positivity in your life by laughing. It releases endorphins which as an incredible effect on your mood and over all well-being. What’s not to love?
So whether you’re already a master at this or just starting, I encourage to you practice laughing at yourself. It doesn’t have to be every day and it doesn’t have to be over blatantly embarrassing things but incorporating this into your daily life will have so many benefits. After all, life is too short: why not laugh?
