A Silly Weekend Will Make Next Week Better

If you need proof that I hang out with some pretty silly people on the weekends, check out the above photo I took last winter of three of my skiing buddies. But first, let me tell you the back story.

Over here in the northeastern United States, the leaves are changing color and starting to fall from the trees. To some people that signals autumn, but to me it means: six weeks until ski season!

On winter weekends and holidays, I coach seven-year-old skiers at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. My kids are the best of the bunch; they are the ones who put adults to shame, and cause them to say things like, "Well, they're low to the ground, so it doesn't hurt when they fall."

No, they just love to ski.

There are many weeks in which I get to Vermont at 10 p.m. on a Friday night and still have two hours of "real" work to finish. But when Saturday morning comes, I'm an enthusiastic member of Seven-Year-Old Land. It's a very silly place to be.

For those of you unfamiliar with this age group, these are the human beings who think it is hilarious when ketchup comes out of their noses (don't ask.) They think candy is one of the two major food groups - the other is soda - and they always have to go to the bathroom just as soon as you leave the only building that has bathrooms.

But, contrary to popular belief, you can actually reason with these kids. I'll tell them, "If you do this turning drill, we can then go ski in the woods." They happily accept such terms.

Back to being silly

But my point, and I do have one, is not to take up your time with skiing stories; we can do that another time. It's to remind you of the value of being silly on a regular basis.

The world is a deadly serious place, and your ability to eat, find shelter, stay safe and educate your kids all revolve around your being able to earn a living. But if you are deadly serious all the time, you just get more and more tired and worn down.

I'd like to suggest that the antidote to this is being silly... or adventurous... or profoundly athletic on the weekends. I like skiing with kids in Vermont, because it allows me to do all three at the same time.

It's a wonderful thing to get to the end of the weekend and realize your body is tired from actual exercise, instead of from sitting on your butt and thinking all day.

It's energizing to spend time with people who couldn't care less about what your boss or clients think. It's wonderful that they lack any interest in your industry, or even the meaning of the word "industry."

"Get real, Bruce"

Some of you are going to push back and tell me how incredibly important and busy you are, and how you couldn't possibly spare even one weekend day to utterly change your perspective and recharge your batteries. Others will say that I'm writing about a First World Problem, and that there are people who don't know where their food will come from today. (This is a sad truth.)

But a huge - and growing - percentage of people are professionals who depend on their brains to earn a living, and brains need a break. Personally, some of my best ideas come Sunday night on the drive home from Vermont, when there is once again room in my brain for new ideas.

Here's my question for you: what's the silliest thing you do on the weekends, and why do you do it?

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