Limitless Monday: The Power of iIrrational Behavior

Limitless Monday – The power of irrational behavior

I was once attending a drinks party at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, the heart of UK political power. Myself and my friend, Andy, were the last ones to leave. As we walked towards the exit I noticed a row of portraits on the wall. The two paintings that stopped me in my tracks were of Gordon Brown and John Prescott, two of my least favorite politicians and people at the time. I stood for a second and considered my options. I decided to take the least aggressive of the options available to me. I pulled both paintings off the wall and turned them round so that the blank canvass looked out over the historic hall. When I arrived at the exit Andy was waiting for me. “Where did you disappear to?” He asked. “I had to rearrange a few of the paintings on the wall,” I explained.

This was before the days of CCTV. Now that small act of victimless defiance would have probably resulted in a visit from law enforcement. The purpose of this story is to demonstrate how acting recklessly once in a while is one way of brightening up our dull lackluster lives.

I am not talking about being reckless to the point of death defying stupidity. I am referring to acts that get the adrenaline flowing. Acts that make you nervous, where you are forced to consider the downside. It doesn’t have to be all about commercial risk taking either, although I always advocate that. Acts that defy normality, that demonstrate you don’t take or give a sh*t.

An act of mild violence to someone who shows you or your loved one disrespect. For example, a slap across the face is a reasonably harmless way of demonstrating you are not going to take it anymore. Even an ear lashing if you shy away from violence. Less confrontational ways of breaking the monotony of life include taking a trip to an exotic or dangerous new land or start training Jiu-Jitsu or Muay Thai and get used to having your ass handed to you while you learn a valuable new skill and transform your weak, pathetic body.

Randomly I was discussing with my girlfriend at the weekend the act of giving someone deserving a damn good old fashioned slapping. She asked me, “Have you ever slapped anyone?” “Yes,” I told her. “I slapped a lawyer while in prison in Morocco during an altercation about money.” I continued, “I told him not to touch me, so I slapped him again when he failed to heed my warning”.

There are so many people these days who deserve a slap. The guy who blocks the supermarket aisle while talking on his cell phone. The rude bar man who avoids serving you in favor of someone else who arrived after you. The insolent staff at Stop and Shop, the co-worker with the bad attitude, the liberal agitator who interrupts a peaceful evening with their politically correct diatribe.

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We all need to do something reckless now and again not only to break the monotony of life but to demonstrate to both ourselves and others we are not going soft. Most of us are weak. When adversity comes our way we whine and whine blaming everyone but ourselves for our predicament. And then we do nothing about it, continuing to wallow in the darkness. It’s time to stop the whining. It’s time to grow a pair. It’s time for action!

Happy Monday!

Banner Image:  Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards. Image Credit – Wikipedia