Life does indeed have its difficult moments.
We have found ourselves in less than desirable situations many times, whether it’s an embarrassing moment or in the midst of a silly mistake.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the moment, sometimes it’s better to just laugh it off. Here are three reasons why it’s always the best cure to your everyday faux pas.
1. If it’s not a big deal to you, it won’t be to them.
Let’s say you’re at a busy coffee shop. But just as you grab your order, the top of your drink decides to betray you and you suddenly find yourself covered in coffee in front of the entire cafe.
The easiest route suggests you quickly rush out of the shop, head down and without coffee. This method is the quickest way out of a situation, and is understandably utilized.
Now, let’s say you don’t leave the situation.
Let’s say, that instead, you find yourself looking up and making a joke of the spectable Maybe you make acknowledge it or maybe you just let out a chuckle and a smile.
Choosing any of these may seem like minute details of your episode, but these changes are anything but insignificant.
The small positive choices are still positive choices. Shifting your focus to a positive perspective can change your bigger ideas and your attitude with enough commitment over time. The little parts are the ones that build the bigger structures.
2. Brushing it off vs. dwelling on it.
It’s easy to find yourself overthinking after an embarrassing situation.
How could you have done better? What do these people think of you now? How can you fix this?
With all of these questions rushing through our heads, especially through those with social anxiety, it’s hard to separate yourself from the situation. However, learning to separate yourself can be quite beneficial to your anxiety and overall stress levels.
The more we dwell on, the more thoughts you’ll have running through your head. While we mean well with our thoughts, sometimes they aren’t doing us any good.
Learning to let it go is just that: learning. It’s true that we’re not going to wake up one day with the ability to be unbothered, but starting small is an excellent start in that direction. Minor mishaps don’t have the power to set us back. That power belongs to our thoughts.
3. Life’s a little better with a sense of humor.
If you find the mistake was small or the embarrassment is not all that big of a deal, laughing at yourself makes you more comfortable, and more confident the next time around. It makes others comfortable around you, too.
When you know when to laugh at yourself, you invite others to laugh with you. It’s frightening to think that others think you’ve done something worth regretting, but ultimately, whether your actions were regrettable is your own decision.
Laughing at yourself not only lightens the situation as well as your stress, but it allows you to take responsibility for your actions by accepting them as silly. By owning these moments, you’re capable of defining them as good ones.
Learning to assess a situation, brush it off, and ultimately laugh it off may seem easier said than done. Granted, it certainly is at first. With enough practice however, by starting with smaller instances, you’ll find yourself laughing more than you think.
Image: iStock
Reflect & Refresh 