That’s Ridiculous

I am a big believer in a little bit of ridiculous.

Not irresponsible. Not reckless.

Ridiculous.

There is a difference.

• Wear the boots that are probably too much.

• Put on the good jewelry to go somewhere completely ordinary.

• Buy the hot pink sofa.

• Sing in the car. Loudly.

• Stop at the weird roadside attraction.

• Talk to the person next to you.

• Laugh at yourself.

• Take the picture even when nobody is ready.

• Order dessert.

• And every once in a while, do something for absolutely no reason other than it sounds fun.

When did we get so serious?

As kids, fun was practically our job. We rode bikes, made up games, wore ridiculous outfits, laughed at things that weren’t even funny, and didn’t need a reason to do any of it.

Then adulthood arrives.

Work. Kids. Bills. Deadlines. Laundry. Tuition. Aging parents. Loss. Responsibilities. More responsibilities. And an endless list of things that need to get done.

Life can get very real, very quickly.

I’ve learned that the serious parts of life don’t make the ridiculous parts less important.

They make them more important.

And I’ve learned something else.

I kind of like it when things get a little off track.

Not catastrophically off track.

Just enough.

• The wrong turn.

• The unexpected stop.

• The plan that doesn’t quite work.

• The restaurant that’s closed so you end up somewhere else.

• The person you weren’t expecting to meet.

• That moment when everyone looks at each other and says, “Well…now what?”

Because now we have a story.

Think about the stories you tell over and over again.

How many of them begin with: “Everything went exactly according to plan…”?

Probably not many.

The perfectly executed days are lovely.

But the slightly ridiculous ones?

Those are the stories.

Perfect gives you a picture.

A little bit of chaos gives you a story.

And sometimes getting off track is exactly what you need to get back on track.

We spend so much energy trying to stay on schedule, stick to the plan and keep everything moving in the direction we decided it was supposed to go.

But what if the detour is doing something for us?

• Maybe you needed to slow down.

• Maybe you needed to meet someone.

• Maybe you needed to laugh.

• Maybe you needed to see something differently.

• Maybe you needed to realize that the direction you were working so hard to stay on wasn’t really where you wanted to go anymore.

Not every wrong turn needs to be corrected immediately.

Sometimes you look around first.

And here’s the really interesting part: there may even be a little science behind it.

Our brains are capable of changing and adapting throughout our lives. That’s called neuroplasticity. Novel and unexpected experiences can engage the brain systems involved in attention, learning, memory and adapting to new information.

I love that.

Because maybe getting a little off track wakes us up.

You notice something you wouldn’t have noticed.

You meet someone you wouldn’t have met.

You have to figure something out instead of operating on autopilot.

You laugh.

You remember it.

You see something differently.

It’s not that taking a wrong turn magically rewires your brain. But giving your brain new experiences, new information, and new ways of thinking is part of how it continues to learn and adapt.

So maybe a little ridiculous is good for us.

And fun doesn’t have to be extravagant.

• It can be laughing in the car.

• Cake for lunch.

• Calling a friend.

• Wearing something ridiculous.

• Stopping somewhere you’ve driven past a hundred times.

• Dancing in the kitchen.

• Doing something completely ordinary in a slightly less ordinary way.

I’ve been through seasons when getting through the day was an accomplishment. I’ve also been fortunate enough to experience moments when I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe.

Both belong in a full life.

Maybe fun isn’t frivolous.

Maybe it’s fuel.

We talk a lot about building a successful life.

• Build the business.

• Raise good kids.

• Save money.

• Work hard.

• Show up.

• Be responsible.

All important.

But somewhere on that list, I think we need: Have some fun.

Not when everything is finished, because everything is never finished.

Not when life becomes easier.

Not when you finally have enough time.

Now.

Wear the ridiculous thing.

Call the friend.

Take the trip when you can.

Take the detour.

Be curious.

Talk to people.

Celebrate something that probably doesn’t require celebrating.

Make yourself laugh.

And for goodness’ sake, occasionally GOYA.

Get Off Your Ass.

Life has handed me enough serious moments to know I don’t want to miss the joyful ones because I was too busy being sensible.

A full life isn’t only measured by what we accomplish.

It’s also measured by how much of it we were actually there to enjoy.

So here’s to a little more laughter, a little more curiosity, a little more spontaneity, a few questionable fashion decisions, some unexpected detours and a healthy amount of ridiculous.

Leave a little room in your life for things not to go exactly as planned.

• Leave room for the wrong turn.

• The unexpected person.

• The ridiculous purchase.

• The unplanned stop.

• The laugh you didn’t see coming.

• And don’t be so quick to decide that something has gone wrong simply because it didn’t go according to plan.

Sometimes getting off track is exactly what you need to get back on track.

And someday, when we’re sitting around saying, “Remember when…?” nobody is going to care that we were perfectly on schedule.

We’ll remember how hard we laughed when we weren’t.

Because you might be in the middle of a story you’ll tell for the rest of your life.

And if somebody looks at you and says,

“That’s ridiculous.”

Maybe you’re doing something right.