Making a Fool of Yourself Makes You Happier

Making a fool of themselves is what scares people who take themselves too seriously the most. Yes, not making mistakes or not showing weakness can help our image, especially during a critical situation. But if we do make a fool of ourselves, even in those situations, it’s not the end of the world.

Feeling ridiculous is something beyond simple embarrassment. Mistakes, errors, or failures are usually disapproved of. However, the person feeling foolish only hears others laughing at them and it’s precisely that mockery what makes them feel more embarrassed. Thus, they find themselves in a situation that can cause uneasiness or tension.

What makes something ridiculous is its disproportion or its inappropriateness. That’s why it’s very easy to make a fool of ourselves in formal situations. These usually impose somewhat strict protocols, which makes it easy to overstep boundaries. In spite of this, feeling ridiculous is something no one can escape from. We’ve all experienced it at least once.

Clowns and making a fool of ourselves

Clowns are characters that make stupidity part of their comedic material.  Clowns represent everything that is deemed ridiculous. They dress in a bizarre way, with a flamboyant suit. In addition, they use gigantic shoes, red noses, and absurd-looking makeup.

Most of a clown’s routine consists of stumbling and falling down. What’s so hilarious to the audience is that clowns are always victims of their own distraction. They’re focused on one thing and then something makes them trip and fall.

A good clown show is filled with misunderstandings. They eat a piece of cardboard because they think it’s cake. Or kiss something awful while believing they’re kissing a beautiful woman. Or they fail to complete a mission because they can’t follow instructions properly. The clown world is full of foolishness, but also full of innocent laughter.

Laughing at yourself

In reality, you only embarrass yourself when you make a mistake and take it too seriously. For example, if someone can’t dance but pretends they can, they make a fool of themselves and it makes everyone laugh at them. On the contrary, if they accept that they can’t dance and has fun within their own limits, it makes them more charming.

So what’s the difference between one situation and the other? One word: self-esteem. Someone with good self-esteem is always able to laugh at themselves because they accept themselves. They also tolerate their own mistakes. If a person is insecure, being ridiculed can hurt them badly.

The big mistake is believing we only deserve affection when we succeed, when we don’t make mistakes, or when we don’t say anything inappropriate. However, that isn’t a true self-appreciation, but a fake self-appraisal.

Making a fool of yourself

We all have different sides or clumsy behaviors. It’s completely natural. It takes a distraction or a little misunderstanding to start making mistakes. In these situations, there’s only one antidote: being genuine and humble. 

We can’t expect to do the right thing in every situation. What we can do is work to feel proud of ourselves, to build a positive self-image. We have to accept our flaws, strengths, mistakes, and successes. This way, we’ll stop wanting to hide, pretend, or show only the “good” side of ourselves.

We can become used to making a fool of ourselves. Make silly faces in front of the mirror or go out without dressing up too much. Put on unconventional clothes to draw attention or shock people. You’ll realize that you’re still yourself and you’ll even be able to laugh at yourself with everyone else.

The most important thing is that, when you allow yourself to be playful every now and then without letting it affect you, you’ll feel happier and a lot more relaxed.

Nothing feeds the feeling of fulfillment like being spontaneous. Nothing makes us more confident than freeing ourselves from worrying about what people think.