Complaint Cocaine

There is something exceptionally easy about building a connection upon a complaint.

It is sticky. People quickly attach to your complaint about the incompetent coworker or miserable weather and some unnamed idiotic political leader.

I remember stepping into a silent elevator with 5 people yesterday and there was not a word spoken. The elevator doors took a long time to shut and I blurted: "I cannot believe they have not fixed these doors in 2 weeks". Conversation immediately bubbled in the elevator and we all exited the elevator talking.

Pessimism is such an interesting entry point. I can present myself as more intelligent and charismatic by being unsatisfied with the state of... anything.

Working as an engineer, I demonstrate my own competence by pointing out incompetence. For example, I show the principle engineers on the team how the existing codebase has X redundancies and pinpointing specific package versions that completely slow down the environment setup. I have pointed to flaws to showcase myself as detail-oriented.

However, I would likely have to work much harder to use positive highlights of the codebase to demonstrate my eye for detail because that's not really going to improve the codebase and therefore receive much attention.

This ability to complain sharpens as you rise in prestige. Corporate executives complain the most. If you disagree, you have not worked in a large company. It seems like the fastest way to demonstrate intellectual capability while imposing your opinions quickly.

Critical thinking requires criticism. Clearly I have observed the fact that the earth is round. People like to be negative.

But it's more than a likeness to negativity. It is a lifetime focused on absence rather than presence.

And while in many ways I think you need to turn this mode on as a tool, I think most people have lost awareness of when they can, or should, turn it off.

I think before being present and positive, we all could reflect more deeply on how we rely on complaint cocaine. This drug that gives us a social boost, a little bit of charisma, and intellectual credibility that is hard to give up. Your Complaint Cocaine.

Stop snorting complaint cocaine.