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Don’t brag and don’t whimper!

Delight by Nagesh Kamath via FlickrAdventure, surprise and discovery

I am quite an adventurous person.  I like experiencing new things and the biggest prize is discovering a new method or way to get something new.

Tales of exploration

I also love listening to stories of people who think the same way.  But there is a paradox in our fascination with surprise and novelty.

Don’t brag and don’t whimper!

Stories where we succeed are not actually all that interesting.  It is the stories where we fail that are funny and interesting.

That’s life.

  1. We get fun doing something surprising and new.
  2. People laugh uproariously at our of stories of ill-judged hope

We don’t get both!

  • People don’t really want to know what you did well – they want to do it themselves.
  • People don’t give a jot about your misery but they will appreciate a laugh at your expense.

The fun is in doing well, or, recounting flops.  Don’t brag and don’t whimper!

I get the impression that this ethos is not widely shared.  What do you think?

Published in POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, WELLBEING & POETRY

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