Is It Possible to Take FIRST too seriously?

[LauraN]

It's possible to take anything too seriously, and that's always a bad thing. =P

Aside from what others have said about priorities, I'd add that you need to remember to keep things in perspective. It can be easy to get carried away and lose sight of the actual purpose of what you're doing. If you're going crazy trying to design the most innovative drivetrain you can imagine, that's cool and all, but not if you turn into some crazy person who yells at anyone who disagrees with you and has stopped learning and inspiring others. (An extreme example, but you get the idea.)

In high school I had a conversation with one of my mentors about keeping perspective during rough times and laughing at life, and he told me something that he said he always advised his kids: If it's worth doing, it's worth laughing about.

If you're not laughing anymore, then yeah, you're taking FIRST too seriously.