Why so serious?

 Raise your hand if you can say this is true about you: I take myself too seriously. 

Perhaps my hand is the only one raised, but I completely fall guilty of taking myself way too seriously at times. And while being serious and being my harshest critic can be helpful in areas like hard-work, focus, and drive, it can also monumentally hurt that area of true beauty that comes out in the form of laughter, being goofy, and extending myself grace. More than anything, being married to a someone who once proclaimed as a child that he wanted to be a comedian, has clearly pointed at the fact that I do not laugh at myself enough. That I can take life too seriously. Why is this? While the pensive, reflective, perfectionist that I am is thankful for this trait in part, there has always been a side of me that wants to nurture the silly a bit more, and choose to take myself less seriously--especially in adulthood. I think it goes hand in hand with intentionally choosing beauty--intentionally choosing to let go of the "put together" facade and just bask in being ridiculous when ridiculous calls. I know it may sound strange, but I think "gracefully goofy" is something so charming. You goofballs out there, you not taking yourself so seriously--you are gorgeous in doing so (and I admire you)! I know I need to allow that beautifully silly part of me out more than I do. I feel most beautiful when I can laugh at myself and let that serious part go. What about you, will you laugh at yourself a little more this week?

Each Thursday  Thoughts by Natalie hosts the Choose Beauty Linkup,  focusing on what real beauty is, what makes us feel beautiful, how we pursue lasting beauty for our lives, the roots behind our body image issues, et. Through our posts, we'll share thoughts, experiences, inspirations, challenges and more with the hope of changing the voice about beauty that we're hearing in our culture today. Read more about the series here, and join in on the conversation by hitting "click here to enter" below.