Bonding with someone over mutual dislikes is delicious. It makes you feel like it’s the two of you against the world. If only the others knew how misguided they were! But aside from the occasional rant against the injustice of it all, complaining drags you down -- along with everyone else. And in this edition of Doing What Works we’ll give you some alternatives. Like being thankful things aren’t perfect. Perfection’s boring, annoying, and pretty much the opposite of what you’re going for -- a good story.

Here are your show notes…

The comedian Lewis Black [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Black] is known for his angry rants.

“The most effective way of complaining is making things happen” is from a plaque in Katie’s colleague’s office.

“Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.” That’s from Erica Jong [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/765-advice-is-what-we-ask-for-when-we-already-know].

Customer service expert Rich Gallagher [https://www.pointofcontactgroup.com/] says you can never successfully criticize anyone for anything.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time.” That’s from F. Scott Fitzgerald [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/22749-before-i-go-on-with-this-short-history-let-me].