Negative Observations Without Contempt
Written and sent same day before I get the heebyjeebys.
I dislike complaining. I got this from my father. He didn’t complain much even though he had plenty to complain about.
I would like to add some specificity on that, but it’s like I cannot even complain on his behalf. Not yet at least. I will get there eventually.
But in my aversion to complaining, I have lost the ability to articulate negative observations. Mostly out of confusion. I don’t know where the line is between a negative observation and a complaint.
On top of this, I generally believe the world needs more good vibes and it’s better to add my 2 cents of positivity and stay quiet on the negative bits.
Never complain, never explain.
There is an entire Wikipedia article on the quote above. It was essentially the standing policy for the British royal family for sometime.
I like this quote a lot. It speaks to me. It sounds strong and confident.
Unfortunately, I fear that in present day this quote is more likely to be used to brush off cruelty and disrespect.
This quote definitely lacks nuance. And it’s a bit of a problem if I’m writing observations. Not all observations are positive and explaining is kinda the name of the game here.
I don’t want to censor all my negative observations.
I’m trying to more empathetic and less judgemental.
I’m working on negative observations without contempt. This goes hand in hand with empathy.
Here is my current work:
I tried the David protein bars. They suck. —> —> —> I tried the David Protein bars. 3 different flavors. Interesting combination of bad taste and bad texture.
I ordered some American Apparrel blank t-shirts. They sucked. —> —> —> I ordered some American Apparrel blank t-shirts. Since they are nearly see-through ‘heavyweight’ shirts that shrunk up 2 inches on the first wash without running them through the dryer, I will use them for undershirts.
Making progress on this is important to me. How can I begin to write about all the things going wrong if I can barely tell you I didn’t like the David protein bars?