The opposite day is the opposite of a normal day. It is often described as pointless, so it is very meaningful because the opposite of pointless is meaningful. This statement is usually only made on the opposite day. The opposite of a correct statement is the opposite of its opposite. If you put this sentence in the opposite direction, you will have contrary findings.
This is how the satire encyclopedia "Stupidedia" explains Opposite Day. But what do we gain from the fact that today is International Opposite Day? What can we do today that is completely different from what we are used to?
Just stay in bed in the morning
The alarm clock - that mean, nasty, cheeky little thing. Every morning it keeps us from doing what we love to do: sleep! Sleep late. Sleep in. On today's opposite day, we just want to lie in. Stay in bed for a long time. Sleep the day away completely. Is that what we really want? Think about what you would miss out on if you didn't get up in the morning. You would miss the first rays of sunshine of the day. You wouldn't be able to say goodbye to your loved ones in the morning. You might miss the praise from your boss that he wanted to give you today.
I'm not doing any sport today
Sport is healthy, sport is a must - yes, we preach this to ourselves like a prayer wheel day in, day out. And we usually stick to it. But not today! Not on the opposite day. Today we're simply doing the exact opposite of sport - that's the plan. But will we really enjoy it? What is the opposite of sport? Hanging around, doing nothing, just not being too active. Is that really fun? Maybe for the moment, but not in the long term.
Breaking out of routines
Routines help us to live our everyday lives in a structured and planned way, to get things done and not forget anything. Today, on the opposite day, we are breaking with routines. Simply do what we feel like doing, when we feel like doing it. Being free and spontaneous - that's what we're really living out today. It's certainly exciting, thrilling and new for one day, but what about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow? What will we do if all our routines suddenly disappear? We would fall into a deep hole.
We could probably go on like this forever. In the end, we come to one conclusion: we actually want our lives to stay exactly as they are. Nevertheless, we celebrate the opposite day, because doing everything differently for a day can be quite exciting...