Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

Three people got me thinking this week. Two of the people got me thinking because they had a birthday and the third got me thinking because I was slightly surprised he is still alive.

Adam West turned 78 on Tuesday and Pauly McGrupp turned 34 on Wednesday. I think it is fairly obvious that Adam West does not take himself too seriously and at 78 he is still regularly working doing a caricature of himself on the Family Guy. Pauly also does not take himself too seriously. In fact when cataloging what he's learned in his 34 years on this planet - Pauly put this first:

I place a high value on not taking life or myself too seriously. That's hard to do, but when I follow that attitude, I have the most fun and experience bursts of happiness. I do make an exception for writing. I'm dedicated to making myself a better writer which means discipline and effort in that aspect of my life.

The third person I thought of this week was Jack Palance who is 87-years old and probably could still kick my ass. I got to thinking about Palance because I happened to hear an old comedy bit by Bill Hicks. Palance is another guy who doesn't take himself too seriously and who is not afraid to laugh at himself.

I think it wouldn't be a stretch to say that both Adam West and Jack Palance also place a premium on keeping themselves physically fit. That has to be a big contributing factor to their longevity. I hope Pauly also sees the value of keeping himself in shape because not taking yourself too seriously is not enough. Just look at John Belushi.