Misconceptions About Being Laid-Back

There are many misconceptions about people that choose to live life laid-back. Here is a small list of 10 things that I think are some of the biggest misconceptions.

Laid-back is just another way to describe lazy – Wrong! Completely and totally wrong. I have been told I am way too laid back, but I have never been lazy. I would say this is true for most of the people that take a laid back approach to life. I have had multiple jobs at once and still do and I give at least 100% to everything I do. That includes relaxing as well, when the time is right. We may take our time to make sure everything is done exactly right but again that is not being lazy. We just don’t stress out over things that we can’t control, shit happens.

The laid back attitude means you just don’t care – This is not intirely true. We care about a lot of things. We probably don’t really care if you think you’re having a bad hair day or that it’s raining because: 1 your hair is fine and 2 without the rain the food we eat could not grow. We care about our environment and being surrounded by happy people. We don’t want to have to deal with a lot of drama and try to avoid it as much as possible. That doesn’t mean we don’t care, we just don’t care to listen to the gossip or complaining about petty things.

Dude, are you high? – No. I am not high. Just because I am not jacked up on 10 cups of coffee or in a major hurry to get nowhere or freaking out over what some politician said or didn’t say does not mean I am smoking the reefer. Just because we can maintain a chill attitude does not mean we are on something to makes us this way. Yes, we may use words like “Dude, No way, Chill out and Hey Bud”, but we are not Spicoli from Fast Times. Laid back people are naturally calm and relaxed.

Hyper and frantic people can be scary – Yes, being around someone that cannot just chill out and relax is almost frightening. I love all people from all walks of life, especially positive and uplifting people. They can bring an energy and a spiritual experience to any situation but the frantic can make everyone want to go running for the hills.

You don’t stress about anything – Again, this is not true. We don’t stress over small things like a flat tire or a stain on our shirt but there are things to be rightfully stressed about. A very sick child or family member, or losing a job and not being able to pay the mortgage. These situations can certainly be stressful. But to get upset about the weather or traffic there’s really no point to it. No amount of you stressing over anything is going to change it. It will just make you sick and more stressed. You just simply have to start doing something to improve the situation.

We let everyone walk all over us – I would have to say that we can be somewhat more passive, but this is usually because many things aren’t worth getting in an argument over. For instance you go out to dinner and everyone wants pizza and you don’t. So what just let them get pizza and pick something else off the menu. No big deal. It’s called compromise.

We don’t stand up for anything – There are times when it is easier to agree to disagree but there are other times when we will fiercely stand our ground. No there doesn’t have to be a physical confrontation but letting ourselves be heard and letting it be known what we stand for, a laid back person will not hesitate to do. Another situation is when it involves the safety or well-being of themselves or they’re family. Have you ever heard the quiet ones are the ones you have to look out for. That can be us. You wouldn’t poke a sleeping bear so don’t push a laid-back person into a corner, you might be surprised how unlaid-back they can become in certain situations.

People think we have no motivation – This is a huge misconception. Being laid back does not mean a lack of motivation. We want the same things as most people, a safe place to live, money to pay bills and our health, we just try not to step all over people to get it. Look at Jimmy Buffet, Jack Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence. These people are very motivated but still have that laid-back attitude on life. They have become extremely famous and amassed a great deal of wealth while still having a great outlook on life and keeping a relaxed state of mind.

We are very misunderstood – Most people have a hard time just trying to grasp the idea that someone can be so relaxed or calm in so many situations. People ask “How can you remain so calm?” Honestly getting all frantic certainly won’t help most situations so I don’t understand their logic at all. For instance, you’re having a party and someone spills a drink and immediately they are freaking out like it’s the end of the world. It’s just a drink and there is more where that came from. We can clean it up and all is good. Like the saying goes “No use crying over spilled milk”.

We are not just letting life happen to us – This is a pretty big one. Just because you can be laid-back does not mean you go through life just letting what ever happen, happen. It’s just that when things do happen that we would rather not have happened we just react calmly instead of wigging out. I mean once something has happened and it’s not what you wanted just try and figure out how you can still get the result you want some other way, or improvise, or just try going in another direction. There are always options so just stay calm and know everything is going to be alright.

I hope this can shed some light on the mind of a laid-back individual. Now I’m sure this isn’t the same for everyone with a relaxed mind set but I hope it will give some insight and understanding.