10 ways you can use light-heartedness as a secret advantage to success
I’ve noticed that overly serious people leave me drained and annoyed.
And, often, that overly serious person is me.
When I’ve remembered to let go of taking everything so damn seriously, everything gets easier, including work, relationships, and managing my own mental state.
Here’s how we can all use light-heartedness as a life strategy for surprising success.
1. Find the humour in difficult situations.
When things go wrong, laugh at the absurdity of it, instead of spiralling.
It really does come down to a choice here. This disarms tension and keeps you thinking clearly when others panic.
Humour awakens your creative brain and gives you psychological distance from the problem, which is what you need to solve it instead of drowning in it.
2. Surprise yourself with how chill you are around other people.
Others can be a tremendous source of stress.
We take things personally, and feel disrespected, and our only instinct is to retaliate, and ‘serve them right.’
But this just creates more divide. Plus, it’s immature, and you know it because it feels like shame.
The best thing you can do when others annoy you is to play it cool. Use the moment as an opportunity to become an emotionally stable badass. No matter how disrespected you feel. Be calm. They will respect you for this, turning the energy around fast.
You will be so much happier when you can control your emotions and be the person everyone comes to because you keep it light.
3. Use playfulness as a productivity approach.
Turn tedious tasks into games.
Test yourself and see if you can beat the last ‘record.’ Race the clock. Do 5-day challenges.
Playfulness removes the mental resistance that kills momentum.
When work feels like play, your brain stops treating it like a chore worth avoiding.
4. Put your attention towards making others feel good.
WARNING! This might have a profoundly positive effect on your life. Handle with care.
Most people are depressed toddlers wearing adult skin suits. They make everything about themselves, and then wonder why everything sucks for them.
Take your attention away from yourself and put it towards others. Write posts that encourage and entertain.
Be a giver. Make others smile when you leave the house.
Now you’re a contributor. Not a poor, whiny victim. This instantly feels good.
5. Make fun of your own mistakes before anyone else can.
A sprinkle of self-deprecating humour shows confidence and makes you more likeable.
People relax around those who don’t take themselves too seriously.
It also robs critics of ammunition because you’ve already acknowledged the flaw, so there’s nothing left to attack.
6. Smile when things get tense.
A real smile shifts your physiology and signals to others that the situation isn’t as dire as it feels.
Tension can’t sustain itself around authentic lightness. Your nervous system reads your facial expression and adjusts accordingly. Same with laughter, even if you force it initially, like the legendary goofball that you are.
Smiling literally calms you down.
7. Treat setbacks like plot twists in a story you’re telling later.
Reframe disasters as ‘this will be funny when I tell it next week.’
That distance removes the sting and helps you stay resourceful instead of defeated.
You’re the narrator and hero of your own colourful life. And heroes don’t go through life free of setbacks and challenges.
Might as well make it a story worth retelling.
8. When someone criticises you, laugh it off.
I used to show people how annoyed I was when they said something seemingly unfair, until I realised it was getting me nowhere.
They’d just get angrier, and I’d feel ashamed for having overreacted.
Plus, it actually reinforces your insecurity.
Either ignore the criticism or reply with humour. This sends the message that you are not emotionally affected by what they said, which instantly diminishes their power.
9. Approach life like improv comedy. Say ‘yes, and..’ to what shows up.
When something unexpected happens, instead of resisting it (‘this ruins my plan’), accept it and build on it (‘okay, this happened, and what interesting thing does this lead to?’).
This turns obstacles into opportunities and keeps you moving forward instead of stuck in frustration. It’s also how the Stoics dealt with challenges.
Life rarely goes to plan, and the people who thrive are those who find a way to run with the flow, instead of sitting there like a sulking rabbit because they didn’t get their way.
10. Be less sentimental.
As a boarding school kid, I used to get homesick a lot. I’d spiral into thoughts of the past and get highly sentimental and just feel depressed for stretches.
Sentimentality can have its place and sometimes be creatively inspiring. There is some beauty in it, like in listening to old albums and feeling sentimental about the past.
But if it ultimately drains you, and you’re finding yourself overwhelmed by sentimentality, it’s time to replace it with more of a no-nonsense, life-can-be-fun approach.
Sentimental people are often too stuck in the past. Change that, and be future-focused. The past happened. Big whoop.
Drop the soppy stuff now, focus on what you CAN change, and get what’s yours.
If you’d like to significantly reduce your stress (regardless of your life situation) in the next couple of days, you might like my Untethered Mind course.
Join hundreds of happy students below.
Learn more here and get access today.
And join us as a paying subscriber here for access to more bonuses and to support my writing: