Seriously Fun

To me, at least, there is a huge difference between “not taking something seriously” and “doing something half-assed.”

I am very much a “Yes” kind of person. I will go try just about any activity you ask me to do. I will generally not take it seriously (I take very few things seriously), but I will give it 110%. A lot of people have a hard time reconciling those two positions.

A friend once asked me if I’d like to go on a fishing trip with her. I hadn’t fished in about 30 years (not since going with my father as a young lad), but I had no reason to say no, so I agreed. And I did everything I could to be a great companion for it! Early morning drives to the shore with a smile on my face and coffee in my hand, all the rented gear I needed, and a cheerful curiosity about technique. I even caught the first fish of the day! Then I just sort of played around on the boat, trying all sorts of weird, different stuff – stuff that probably would have made a professional fishing enthusiast cringe, but that’s what “not taking this seriously” looks like. Jokes and experiments and laughter.

As we were driving home, the friend commented that she assumed I had a terrible time. I was shocked. I told her I had a wonderful time, and I meant it. It had been a fantastic day. And I commented that I had been laughing, smiling, having fun, etc. all day, so what gave her the impression that I hadn’t enjoyed myself?

She said that it didn’t seem like I cared if I caught any fish.

I had to laugh. Of course I didn’t care if I caught any fish! I couldn’t even imagine caring about whether or not I caught fish. The point wasn’t to catch fish – it was to go fishing. I gave 110% to the act of going fishing. I gave zero percent of my emotional state to the result.

That’s the difference. Probably lots of people aren’t wired like that – if they don’t care about catching fish, they can’t bring themselves to enthusiastically go fishing. Maybe it’s a special power of mine, but I certainly enjoy being this way. I like being able to enjoy doing things without caring about the result of those things. Caring about the result of every little meaningless thing in your life sounds exhausting.

So go fishing. Sing karaoke. Try that weird restaurant. Do whatever! Just try not to take it – or yourself – so seriously.