Don’t Get Recruited

I’m wary of people who try to ingratiate themselves with conspiratorial undertones “Did you hear what happened with so-and-so…”

It usually starts as harmless gossip, but give them a patient hearing and it quickly shifts into a full-blown complaint fest. The tone changes. The energy turns. And before you know it, you’re being nudged to take sides in a story you had nothing to do with. I’ve learned to step back.

I’ve got better things to do than sign up for someone else’s drama.

Shane Parrish of Farnam Street puts it nicely. People who make being wronged their identity aren’t looking for solutions—they’re looking for recruits.