Taking games "seriously"

Last week, as I wrapped up another 0-2 week at the FLGS, my buddy I was playing with gave me some odd/interesting advice. He said "I know you would be a good player, but you just don't take it (warmachine) seriously" I thought this was an odd statement given the context of the game we were playing (A "who's the boss matchup" where we pick a random caster out of a hat and play them in a pre-made take all comers sort of list).  But I got the gist of what he was saying and it got me thinking.

Or did it???

Warmachine is a complicated game. It's similar to chess, but with big monsters. Protect your king, sacrifice pieces if need be, but the ultimate goal is checkmate. I guess this isn't something that was clear to me at the onset of playing the fame and learning the rules. I was more focused on trying to learn what my dudes did. But... as I get more familiar with the rules, it is definitely becoming apparent. 

I think I have been having difficulty due to my lack of understanding the strategy. I have had my eyes on the prize, but you can't always go for the throat in every match. Sometimes you have to wear them down and play the long game. 

It's definitely got me thinking, that's for sure. I mean, do I want to take it serious? Do I care? Given my lack of presence on the local gaming scene, it would seem not so much as of late. On the opposite end of that, I have spent hundreds of dollars on these models and plenty of time doing my research and assembling them. So I must care at least in one way. 

Anyways, it has given me food for thought and definitely made me think more about gaming in the last couple weeks.