It’s an encouraging idea to let yourself go, to relive the freedom of childhood when activities like drawing was just fun and didn’t mean that you wanted to enter and win some kind of competition. We all watch TED talks where people with PhDs tell us these things and vigorously nod our heads in intellectual agreement with the sentiment. Corporate team building exercises usually involve the re-enactment of the childlike state – painting, running around with a egg under your chin, being silly, but still – the traumatic fear of public judgement far outweighs our natural curiosity and the joy of doing something in life that others may think of as a waste of time.
Being a responsible adult isn’t something that comes naturally to most of us. Paying off debt and being a good corporate citizen takes a lot of concentration and energy – that’s probably why Monday mornings for 90% of the population is such a traumatic time. Putting on theatre make up and a heavy mask everyday is hard work when your heart isn’t naturally in it. We would have far more fun at work if we were paid to act like idiots for a living, plus we’d probably get so good at it, there would be job security for ever. The world would be a super fun place and everyone would dread Fridays.
So it’s not just dancing and our artistic enjoyment that is suffering as a result of us thinking that we need to act and be a certain way to be accepted in the world.
So it’s not just dancing and our artistic enjoyment that is suffering as a result of us thinking that we need to act and be a certain way to be accepted in the world.
The irony is, that probably according to yourself, everyone else thinks you’re an idiot already – so what have you got to lose?
Most people are just not very good at acting and playing the role society demands of them, so why then do we wonder why so many people are so dissatisfied with their lives?
If you’re not feeling guilty about getting paid money for the work that you do, you’re doing the wrong work.