Shake Your Sillies Out

Remember being little and only having to worry about having fun? When you weren't embarrassed by jumping around and being silly. Remember when you dressed up as characters, and pulled funny faces or attempted to do three handstands in a row in the backyard? What about when the best days of your life were spent jumping on a trampoline, or playing musical statues all day? The days when consequences and shame never got in the way of just being silly simply for the fun of it.

As adults, we often forget to be silly just to relax, chill out and to have some fun. The other night I went out with a group of friends. Yes we were silly, and we had a great time laughing and joking all night. We sang and danced to Karaoke on a big screen to songs and bands we had grown up listening to. For once in a long time we were able to forget about our key roles of mum and/or employee. We were able to let our hair down and have some real fun. It made us all realise how important it is to still be silly, and to still have fun sometimes. It can release you from your worries and stressors. It's hard to worry when you're completely focused on singing and dancing to a song you know every word and action to.

Having fun and being silly can make us feel free and alive again. Just shifting our focus for even a short span of time can reset our brains, all in being ready to see things differently. On this, we naturally become more creative in our problem solving abilities. As the saying goes "all work and no play makes a dull boy."

Our lives are so busy all the time packed full of work, responsibilities, bills and appointments. Most of us are not having the time out that we need to have to be productive, happy and healthy. By making the time to be silly or to have some fun, our calmer, more relaxed bodies and minds will be able to function better for ourselves and for others. We will be better partners, better workers, better parents, better friends and be really fun to be around.

Here are some little things we can all do to put some fun and silliness back into our lives, minds and hearts:

1) Dance like no one is watching. If they do watch, dance more and do a bow afterwards. Blow a kiss and say "thank you, thank you, it's been great."

2) Organise to have a silly/fun day at work. Maybe have a day where everyone has to come dressed up as a TV character; wear their pyjamas or have a crazy hair or hat day. Each person that comes dressed up could donate money, and it could all then be given to charity. Notice how different the work atmosphere feels on this day, and how happier the staff seem.

3) Hire an adult jumping castle. They are available, and they are not that expensive. Have each person put some money in and jump your sillies out.

4) Dance with children to children's songs. You probably will be surprised as to how many rhymes and songs you can still remember.

5) Get friends and family together, and go to a karaoke bar or have a karaoke night at your place. You could even set a theme. Say the 80's where everyone dresses up like the 80's, and you sing to those awesome 80's pop songs with your crimped hair, push down socks and crop top on.

6) Spend a weekend playing some old school classic games like scrabble, monopoly, what's the time Mr Wolf, hide and seek, musical statues, stuck in the mud and limbo to only name a few.

7) Go to a park, and slide down a big slide. Swing on the swings, and roll down a hill. Ride a cardboard box down a hill. Run through the sprinklers.

8) Have a who can pull a funny face competition in front of a large mirror.

Watch this clip to help put you on the mood for fun:


Work hard, play hard, and more importantly shake those sillies out.

#fun
#memories
#time_out
#time_off
#holidays
#balance
#career
#recharge
#unwind
#mental_health

%selfavenue