“Life is far too important to be taken seriously” – Oscar Wilde
Life is important, but it doesn’t have to be taken so seriously.
We often think that we have to be serious about life + our work for our lives to turn out well. And that’s because we have been taught that this is the way. The only way.
We have to work hard, be the best, do good in school, be serious about work, be the perfect partner + parent, always be striving for more, achieve this, set that goal, strive for the top, pretty much be serious + perfect about everything. If we really want to succeed in life.
Sure, be intentional if you want, but serious? Why? What does that do for us?
I think all this seriousness has made a lot of us go to the extreme (myself included) – to perfectionism, to overwhelm, to burn out, to lack of joy, lack of gratitude, lack of fun. And it’s caused a lot of the stress and anxiety in our society that we see today. I certainly know that’s how I felt up until a couple of years ago.
In reality, it’s exhausting and not how life is meant to be lived. It also isn’t necessary.
We’ve lost ourselves. We get so caught up in how we’re supposed to be, act, think and feel. Sometimes to the point where we’re no longer really living. We’re not experiencing life. We’re taking everything so seriously that we forget to stop and enjoy life for what it is. Or acknowledge all of the awesomeness and miracles of life.
So what do we do about it? Stop the man-made pressure (yes, it’s all made up). Listen to Oscar Wilde and infuse more fun, play and joy in our lives. Be more present. Experience life. And finally, stop taking ourselves so damn seriously. Seems simple, but not always easy. So let’s take a small step and find one thing tomorrow that will help us experience life more. And then do it again the next day.
