One of my major flaws is that I don’t take things seriously enough. I am not a serious person. I used to say that I couldn’t take things seriously, but the reality is that I can – I choose not to. It depends on who I am with and around for me to be serious. The funny thing is, I used to be the opposite when I was growing up, but I got to specific points in my life that caused me to be less serious and more playful.
I believe that situations make you who you are – and that the situations I have been in have made me who and how I am today. Growing up, I would take everything seriously, from my education, to how I would come across to people to how I interacted with everyone; the list can go on. In education, I was one of the pupils who were on point the first few years and then slacked towards the end – which is the opposite way to be, especially with your education.
What does it mean to be serious?
- Acting or speaking sincerely in earnest rather than joking or half-hearted manner.
- Requiring thought, concentration, or application
Being how I am, I find it hard for people to take me seriously when I am genuinely serious, and no one ever does. I have to admit that I am to blame for that because I never take anything seriously – or for a better explanation, I’m the type of person who does not like to be serious 24/7. There are reasons why I am this way; I don’t want to be so serious that I forget to live in the moment and enjoy my life the way I should. I tend to get into it with many people because they feel I do not take things seriously, which frustrates them – which I understand.
I like to lighten the mood for everyone, so I am a person to be quick-witted with one-liners and banter about anything and everything. If I am honest, it comes so naturally for me to respond to anything in. a jokey way – it rolls off the tongue without thinking, and sometimes I can’t help or stop myself; it’s second nature.
Arguments and debates have occurred with people in my life for not being serious, and it would also be an excuse for them not to take me seriously. I have ways of how I speak to people; my voice when I am speaking varies depending on how comfortable I am, if I am nervous, when I am playful/joking and when I am serious. I know there is a clear difference between when I am being serious and when I am not – my tone.
My tone when I am serious is entirely different, my vibe and body language aren’t the same, and the way I speak either becomes slower or faster, depending on how passionate I am about what I am talking about. Albeit, there are also times when I use my jokey manner to say serious things because I tend to find it difficult to communicate – but also because I know how I would want people to speak to me. I know that how you talk to people and what you say matters; to everyone.
When people take things too seriously, they hinder themselves from enjoying and taking in the moments, whether in experiences or time with people – I genuinely believe that. In life, there needs to be a balance, a time and a place. As much as I know that it isn’t always good to be unserious and always to joke around, I also know that it isn’t good to be serious all the time.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been the type of person who likes some form of balance in their life. I need time to wind down after a long day of work – whether playing PlayStation, watching films/shows or on extracurricular things such as writing. When I am working, I am serious – I can also be jokey sometimes, but there is a limit. I am the colleague who won’t socialise, go to work events or for drinks after work; that just isn’t me. And because of this, my previous colleague would say I was too serious.
I also know that being that way at work can hinder my progress – it could stop me from networking and potentially meeting people who could help my career or even build relationships and connections that could help me in the future.
I understand that I must take some things in life more seriously, and I have. Improvements I have needed to make in myself and my life I have made and continue to work on other aspects of my life to take seriously. Everyone handles things differently, and I think many people don’t understand that and take things personally rather than understanding how others are.
We live in a world where everything is pretty much depressing, and all you hear is constant bad news, so if I feel like I don’t have to be serious 24/7, then I won’t. If I feel like I need to be serious, then I will be – there is a time and a place, and I have learnt that more and more in my life as I have gotten older.
In the word of the Legendary Heath Ledger’s Joker…. WHY SO SERIOUS?