Why Grown-Ups Should Act Silly More Often

One of the gifts young children give their parents is an endless supply of silly behavior. My daughter wears underwear on her head. And not just her own. My son shakes his booty when he dances, and acts like a backseat DJ when a thumping song comes on the radio, moving one hand like he’s mixing tracks while holding the other over his ear like he’s listening through a headset.

Both kids make goofy faces and emit fart noises just to get a laugh. At dinner they clap as loud as they can to trigger the Halloween spider that hangs above my seat. If they make enough noise, it drops down 18 inches and starts climbing back up its string. It never fails to startle me.

I’m not always a good sport about silly behavior — especially when the spider messes with my meal. But maybe my silly kids are on to something.

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Silliness gives us permission to take life a little less seriously (and most of us take it too seriously, I think). It forces us to let down our guard and invites people around us to let down their defenses, too.

Silliness gets our creative juices flowing because it violates the unwritten rules of “how we’re supposed to behave.” It is liberating and mind-altering. Silliness shifts our focus away from our problems and, by doing so, allows us to see them from a new point of view.

Silliness shows we can laugh at ourselves instead of worrying about whether we’re good enough. Letting ourselves be silly means we aren’t trying to put up a front or look good for other people. We’re good enough already.

Most adults can’t remember the last time they laughed so hard their cheeks hurt. And that’s too bad. Laughter really is good for the soul.

Why not set aside your adult obligations for 10 minutes and do something silly, just for giggles. I double-dog dare you.