April at Aisle Planner has been all about being silly—so, as the month comes to a close, we wanted to offer you a roundup of all of the reasons you should throw caution to the wind and let your playfulness take the reigns every now and then. Put on those ridiculous pajama pants you own and get ready to give your inner child some serious play time. Today, planning professionals, is all about letting loose and being silly—and reaping the benefits of both.
You Control the Narrative
People don’t often think about the strategy behind being silly—but we promise you there are some serious benefits to allowing yourself to look a little ridiculous. When you’re silly and self-deprecating (in a humorous, rather than hurtful, way) you’re given the ability to control your own narrative. Think of the Nora Ephron quote, “When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you. But when you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, it's your laugh.” There’s oftentimes nothing more empowering than being confident enough to make fun of yourself. Beating others to the punch means we now own (and can control) the story about that thing we’d otherwise be cowering under our desks about.
You Become Relatable as a Boss
As business owners, we often think we need to be buttoned-up and professional all of the time in order to keep our team on track. But, when we allow ourselves to be silly in the workplace—to laugh, to open-up, to not take ourselves or our business too seriously—we often notice that workplace morale and cohesiveness amongst our team increases. This is because we become a relatable human being, rather than a detached, unrelatable boss or manager. This doesn’t mean you should spend Fridays throwing back beers and divulging personal secrets at a local bar with your employees—but it does mean you should show them your softer side more often than you may think.
You’re in Control of Your Happiness
A yoga teacher once told me there are two ways to handle any frustrating situation in life: you can either choose to be annoyed, or you can choose to be amused. I try (albeit not always successfully) to employ this mindset anytime I find myself reading a demanding client’s 2 a.m. email, or stuck in rush-hour traffic and running late, or trying (very hard) to read a book in my backyard with the incessant barking of my neighbors’ dogs in the background. When we choose to be amused (rather than annoyed) by that irritating client or terrible driver or horrible neighbor who never seems to let her dogs inside or take them on walks, we control our reactions and, as such, our happiness. Laugh instead of cry; smile instead of scream; get up and dance instead of rip your hair out—and see just how much better it truly feels.
Overall, the benefits to being playful are seemingly endless (and we didn’t even get to the part about laughter burning calories, so bring on the milkshakes). When we start to look at silliness as means to control and empowerment, suddenly playfulness in the professional world starts to make a whole lot of sense.
So cheers, Aisle Planners, to embracing your silly side as April comes to a close!
Hero photo courtesy Jen Wojcik Photography
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