The seriousness of silliness

If you’ve been browsing this site and checking out the book preview (which I’m assuming you did, of course!), you probably noticed quite a bit of lighthearted humor sprinkled throughout.

In between the outlandish quotes I’ve chosen, the memes on display, and the fact that my book starts with a lyric from Britney Spears herself, there’s plenty of “silliness” going around.

And this might strike some of you as odd…

“Anxiety is something very serious, isn’t it?” you may ask “Shouldn’t it be approached and tackled with solemnity?”

To which I say absolutely fucking not.

Now, don’t get me wrong: when it comes to anxiety and doing creative work, plenty of hardships exist that do need to be faced head on with seriousness and a somewhat clinical eye - from self-doubt, addiction and cycles of shame, to hopelessness, constant fear of rejection and social unease.

There’s plenty of darkness around, and my book delves deep into many of these topics with all the honesty and compassion that I’m capable of. After all, I lived through it all, so I know just how isolating and draining it can all get.

However, what I discovered in the darkest of days is that seriousness can only take you so far. At some point, trying to keep everything under tight control can in itself become a source of stress.

Why? Because in between the habits we’re trying to adopt, the thought patterns we’re trying to change, and the constant self-reflection anxiety predisposes us to, we often forget to breath. We suffocate.

And at times like this, some silliness can make all the difference.

Silliness reminds us that we’re imperfect, and the healing process is imperfect - with many ups and downs, moments of frustration, and an occasional desire to run away.

Silliness reminds us that it’s okay to take a step back every once in a while - to laugh at ourselves just a little bit - and to cut ourselves some much needed slack.

Silliness reminds us that, within the hazy dark mist, some light does exist.

There’s a joke to be told.

A smile to be shared.

A meme to be posted.

That right there captures the “seriousness of silliness”, a philosophy etched into pretty much all facets of What You’re About to Read Isn’t Perfect - a philosophy that serves as an extremely powerful weapon to ward off the anxious darkness in times of need. (Yes, I’ll be collecting my Emmy now thank you very much!)

Once more, keep on fighting the good fight everybody! And may you allow yourselves a cheeky grin along the way every once in a while…