Looking Stupid
Daily Meditation 492–7/2/2023
The irrational fear of “looking stupid” needs to be whittled away off of your personality as it creates a vacuum in your opportunities.
We all accidentally drop stuff.
We all make embarrassing Freudian Slips.
We all have “Aha” moments at work.
Is “looking stupid” really so bad?
One of the greatest supplements to cure this fear is to reframe it into humor.
Accidentally drop a fork in line for food at a buffet with a loud clatter?
Exclaim “OHHHHHHH BOY” forcefully. Own it.
Make a Freudian Slip like referring to a friend’s wedding as a funeral? Immediately make it a joke. Own it.
Realize you’ve been taking “the long way” to do something at work? Don’t bluster over it — refer to it as “The John (your name) Way,” making yourself into a small opportunity for others to have a giggle. Own it.
Long story short — people all love laughing and people very seldom laugh AT someone.
So make them laugh. Own your little errors by converting yourself, respectfully, into a small joke for that moment in time.
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These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”
