SERIOUS
In my business life, I often see grimness, teeth-clenched, single-minded pursuit of a goal, with no sign of humanity, with no apparent pleasure. In my personal life, I often see the same thing, a goal-oriented focus on achievement, whether in sport or game or other aspect of life. In those situations, I usually try to lighten the atmosphere with a joke or a smile or a laugh or a humorous comment. People often say I'm not serious. I answer with a maxim I've adopted: Serious does not mean grim.
Serious subjects require a serious approach. We must take serious problems seriously. We can't be careless or silly nor can we fail to give our best effort to solving these problems. But that doesn't mean we have to grit our teeth, clench our fists, frown or do any of the other stressful things people often associate with seriousness. We can maintain a relaxed atmosphere, tell a joke, laugh, smile, do all the things which relax us and enable us to do our best work or do our best in a game. We don't need to put on a tragic mask. The people who believe they must appear grim in approaching serious subjects subject themselves to so much stress I don't believe they do their best. And I'm sure they reduce the enjoyment which ought to be a part of any project.
People who equate serious with grim also ruin the experience for other participants. It's hard to enjoy something when your colleagues or fellow competitors bring the grim face to the task. We don't know whether they're angry, in pain, or what. We worry more about them than the project. We certainly lose some of the pleasure we should have.
The next time someone accuses you of not approaching a serious subject with the required seriousness, remind them of my maxim and keep smiling. You'll do a better job, you'll enjoy yourself and, your fellow participants will eventually admit, everyone around you will be better off.
8-6-01
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