bhaskar saikia

There’s a simple philosophy I’ve come to embrace over the years: take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.

It sounds like wordplay at first, but it’s not. It’s an important distinction.

Taking your work seriously means putting your heart and mind into what you do—showing up, being dependable, striving for excellence, and respecting the impact your work can create. This is how you grow, contribute, and leave a mark.

But taking yourself too seriously? That’s when things get tricky. When we start believing we are our titles, achievements, or reputations, we begin building a cage for ourselves—an invisible one but often harder to break out of than a physical prison. You carry the weight of always being seen as “the serious professional,” and that comes with its own set of problems:

1. Arrogance creeps in. You start thinking your work defines your worth, which can make you dismissive or rigid.
2. You get trapped in an image. There’s constant pressure to live up to this carefully constructed “serious” persona, which takes away spontaneity.
3. You become dull. People tend to shy away from those who hide behind a mask of seriousness, fearing judgment or lack of relatability.

So, what’s the alternative?

Take your work seriously—do it with passion, diligence, and care—but loosen up about yourself.

Be goofy. Be nerdy. Let your hair down. Allow people to take your work seriously without being weighed down by a heavy, overly curated image of yourself.

Over the course of my career, I’ve met all kinds of people—scientists, bureaucrats, professors, teachers, administrators—and through my hobbies, plant collectors, writers, poets, journalists, entrepreneurs, stock brokers, social activists, and even power brokers. And I’ve noticed something:

• Those who take their work seriously but stay chilled in life not only achieve greatness in their fields but also seem genuinely happy.
• Those who take themselves too seriously often reach high positions but rarely find contentment.

A Role Model: Elon Musk

Say what you will about Elon Musk, but he’s a living example of this philosophy. He takes his work—SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink—seriously. Consider this: after NASA retired its Space Shuttle program in 2011, only Russia had the capability to send humans to space. Musk’s SpaceX changed that, becoming the only private company—and the only other entity apart from Russia—with this capability.

And yet, despite these world-changing achievements, Musk is secure enough to show his goofy side, crack memes, and even name a child “X Æ A-12.” That’s not eccentricity for the sake of attention; that’s freedom from society’s rigid image-making.

A Reminder From the Mahabharata

This brings me to a conversation from the great Indian Epic, the Mahabharata where Yaksha asks Yudhishthira: “What is the greatest wonder in the world?”

Yudhishthira’s answer is timeless: “Every day, countless beings die and go to the abode of Yama, yet those who live believe they will never die.”

We see death around us all the time, yet live as if immortality is guaranteed. That, to me, is the biggest reminder to enjoy the ride.

Be serious about what you do, but don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself, dance in the rain, or wear those ridiculous socks. Because no matter who you are or what image you project, at the end of the day, we are all headed towards death. The difference is whether we enjoyed the journey or got trapped in maintaining an image.