Being the funny one in the group is fine until it’s the only role you’re allowed to play.

A role that works is hard to put down. If being funny is what got you accepted, it quickly becomes the only thing anybody expects, and the moments when you would rather be serious start to feel like failing to deliver. The humour is genuinely yours and it is not all of you, and a group with only one slot for you is a narrow place to spend your time.

Say one true thing without a joke attached this week, to somebody likely to take it well. Notice who follows you into the serious version. Those are the people worth more of your hours.