Laughing at the mess doesn’t mean you’re not serious. It means the mess doesn’t get to run you.

Humor in a bad situation gets mistaken for not caring, and it is often the opposite. Being able to find something funny means you have enough distance to see the situation rather than being entirely inside it, which is the position from which people fix things. Seriousness is measured by what you do next, not by how grim your face is.

When something goes badly this week, try describing it to a friend as a story rather than as a complaint. The line to watch is whether the joke replaces the action or just makes room for it.