The Benefit of Stupid Decisions

I find it funny (and sad) how making the “smart” decision is most often equated with making the cautious decision.

“I want to do x but I should be smart and just do y instead.”

Doesn’t that sound so pitiful and boring, even without knowing what x and y stand for?

Firstly, “should” is such a horrible word and lame grounds for any decision-making. Whenever we say “should” we’re often calling upon a priority or standard set by someone else or by society en masse. Yes, there are things we know we should do and actually want to do but for the most part, the “should’s” in our lives are beliefs placed upon us against our will.

So, why are we all living in fear of making a mistake or looking dumb? Who cares?! Seriously. Let’s do the fun or, what some would call, the “stupid” thing instead. Let’s do what our gut is telling us even if it goes against everything we’ve been told (within the limits of avoiding harm to anyone of course).

Let’s do the fun or “stupid” thing instead.

It’s ironic that I’m writing this because as a child, I was often punished for using the word “stupid.” There are two instances that I can still vividly recall. Once for calling my mom stupid and another for calling my sister stupid. It used to be a bad word in our household. I literally had to write “My mom is not stupid” 100 times as punishment. Yet, here I am advocating the word as more of a positive thing. I say stupid as a protest against what the status quo perpetuates. I say stupid to get us out of our own heads and useless ruminations while our trusty gut is right there, readily available to tell us what feels right and wrong.

Why don’t we leave the so-called “smart” decisions to the wet blankets who live their lives so in fear of doing something wrong that they never try anything new.

To the ones who love to say “I told you so” in order to feel better about their own caged-in life. Seeing you make a mistake, fail and fall on your face is their only respite for having unknowingly imprisoned themselves within the walls of their own limited thinking.

Let them have that much.

You? You can continue breathing raw and pure life into your lungs and laughing in the face of failure and fear as you live uninhibited. Climb that mountain, take that solo trip, dive into the ocean, or do whatever awesome, “stupid“ thing you’re up to next.

Have you found yourself stuck in externally imposed “should’s” lately? What fun, “stupid” things would you rather be doing? Or maybe you’ve already let go of the “should’s” in your life and embraced a free flowing, gut-led lifestyle. I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!