Ice is harder than water but it still floats on top. Toughness isn’t always weight.

Hardness and heaviness are separate properties, and being formidable does not require being dense with seriousness. The person who holds up in a crisis is often the light one, the one who can still make a joke, because rigidity and strength are different things. What keeps you afloat is not how solemn you can be.

If you have been trying to seem substantial, notice the effort that takes and how little it returns. Let yourself be light in a situation that seems to call for gravity. Being easy to be around is a strength people underestimate until they need it.