I know I already wrote one post about Bubba Watson, this year’s winner of the Master’s Golf Tournament. But, there’s another piece of this story that I just kept coming back to. Immediately after Bubba won the tournament a few weeks ago, pictures of him shirtless in overalls from some kind of video started to pop up everywhere. The video in question was recorded with three fellow pro golfers as part of a promotional campaign for Farmer’s Insurance. The video is hilarious and brilliant. These four men, who are professional athletes in a sport that is famous for taking itself too seriously, recorded a boy band video spoof. I love it. The video is embedded at the bottom of this post (email subscribers may have to click through to the actual post to see it). If you haven’t seen it, watch it now. It’s only 2 minutes long.
What I love about this video is that these four guys are having fun, being silly, and because it’s such a unique way to see a professional golfer, it’s captivating. I don’t know any of these guys personally, so maybe the four of them are normally fun-loving, not-take-yourself-too-seriously kind of guys, but it still takes some guts to show up shirtless in overalls, dancing around and singing (even if you are in an actual boy band). These guys were willing to risk looking completely ridiculous. And, they look like they are having a great time doing it. I think that’s what makes the video so compelling to watch. These guys aren’t half-assing it, they are really putting their hearts into the performance despite not being trained singers or dancers.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to be so silly? To have so much fun? When did you risk looking ridiculous on the possibility that you might do something extraordinary?
When I look around, I see so many people who have decided that their life and their work is serious business. Their faces show the strain and boredom of such an existence. The thing is, no one ever said that life had to be so serious. No one said that work can’t be fun. Sure, life has to be taken seriously, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have fun and enjoy the journey.
In my first Bubba-inspired post, I wrote about the power of showing emotion. Being willing to be silly and cut loose a little bit also has tremendous power. Think about the first people on the dance floor at a concert. or the person who will sing karaoke like they were trying to win American Idol.. Regardless of their talent, we admire their courage and, often times, we wish we were more like them.
So, next time an opportunity comes your way to do something that is silly or goofy or ridiculous, do it. And, don’t hold back. The power of silly only works if you are 100% invested in it like the Golf Boys in the video. You’ll likely find that you will have a great deal of fun because being silly is fun as my four year old daughter reminds me of this all the time. Plus, others will be drawn to you for having the guts to put yourself out there.