If you watch the news, read the papers or listen to the guys on the radio, everything seems seriously horrible. Unemployment! Bankruptcy! Conspiracies! Murders! Wars! Disasters!
As a result, you feel a little stress.
How can you feel good? Eat food and gain weight? See a shrink? Make sure everyone around you is also worried? Take a pill or a drink?
Unfortunately, no matter what you do, the stress returns. You think about living in poverty. You think about death. Life is extremely serious, right?
Fortunately, you can do something that will help you succeed despite all the bad news: stop being so serious and start having fun!
"You want to know what seriousness is? Seriousness is solidity. You ever hear of a 'solid citizen?'
"There's nothing that succeeds like insouciance*. Plain flippancy** will actually get more done in less time than anything else you can name."
"And the more seriously you take the game, the less chance there is of winning."-- L. Ron Hubbard (*Insouciance: Lack of concern, carefree.) (**Flippancy: casualness, disrespectful joy.)
When you stop agreeing with all the bad news and find a way to take things less seriously, you fire up your spirit of play! You enjoy benefits like these:
* You feel healthier and more alive.
* You think of great solutions that are simple and effective.
* People enjoy being around you.
* You get more done with less effort.
* You have more fun. If you are in good mental shape, simply remind yourself to LIGHTEN UP. You switch you from a serious mood to a light, carefree mood. As a result, you magically feel better and start making progress toward your goals.
For example, you pull into a parking lot and can't find a place to park. You feel like smashing your car into another car. Instead, you decide to lighten up. "Why am I getting so serious about a parking space! I'll park down the street and get in some exercise."
As another example, you hear some horrible, frightening news on the radio about the stock market. You say, "Oh boy, we don't stand a chance in this world." But then you realize, "Wait a minute. I don't have any big investments in the stock market. What do I care?" You laugh, change the channel to an upbeat music station and start to think more clearly.
Another example: You and your spouse are not talking. You disagreed about something, had an argument and got very, very serious. You come to your senses and decide, "We need to lighten up!" So you act silly or tell jokes until you and your spouse are laughing.
Your spirit of play can make or break your business or career. If you get too serious, you not only feel unhappy, you make others lose the joy of work. Everyone loses.
For example, sales are down and everyone in your company is looking unhappy. The boss is yelling all the time which makes everyone act very serious. Because everyone feels desperate, the customers run and hide.
You decide to lighten things up and say, "Okay, here's my plan for today. I'm going to grab a customer by the throat, slam him in that chair, pull his arm out of his shoulder socket and make him to write a check." Everyone laughs for a change and adds their own ideas. The customers can tell things are more upbeat and come out of hiding to buy something.
If you stop taking your job, your life and the economy so seriously, you make better decisions. Your days fly by as you get more done. You win the game!
For a dozen more ways to lighten up, read "Being Too Serious Can Ruin Your Success" at www.tipsforsuccess.org/seriousness.htm. |
