Why We Take Life Too Seriously and How to Change That

Question and Thought for the Day March 17, 2025

Thought of the Day: May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night. — Irish Blessing

Question of the Day: What’s something people take too seriously?

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, a time when we celebrate luck, laughter, and a little bit of mischief. But here’s the thing—some people take even this too seriously. They argue over the “right” way to celebrate, the historical accuracy of leprechauns, or whether you should really be drinking green beer.

That brings me to today’s Question of the Day: What’s something people take too seriously?

The list is long. Work. Diets. Social media. The number of steps they take in a day. Some folks even stress about how much fun they’re having, making sure it’s properly documented and Instagram-worthy. Somewhere along the way, we started mistaking intensity for importance.

Serious Isn’t Always Smart

Of course, some things do deserve our full attention—our health, our relationships, our integrity. But so many things we treat as life-or-death are really just bumps on the road.

That awkward thing you said in a meeting last week? No one remembers.
The typo in your email? Nobody cares.
That one “bad” meal? It won’t ruin your health.

A funny thing happens when you stop taking everything so seriously—you start living. You laugh more. You let things go. You recognize that most of the things you stress about will be irrelevant in a year (or a week).

How to Lighten Up (Without Losing Sight of What Matters)

1. Ask yourself: Will this matter in a year? If the answer is no, it’s probably not worth the stress.
2. Give yourself permission to be wrong. A mistake is not a character flaw—it’s proof you’re trying.
3. Remember that everyone else is wrapped up in their own worries. That embarrassing moment you keep replaying? Nobody else noticed.
4. Find the humor in the chaos. Life is absurd. Laugh at it. Laugh at yourself.
5. Make space for joy. Not everything has to be a goal, a metric, or a competition. Some things can just be fun.

So today, take a deep breath and let something go. Laugh at the ridiculousness of life. And if you happen to spill some green beer on yourself, remember—it’s not the end of the world.

Your turn: What’s something you think people take way too seriously? Drop it in the comments!