Just to really drive it home, I’m going to repeat the title here. Your choices of conversational topics say a lot about you.
I took my daughter Olivia to the pool yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. While we were there, I overheard 3 grown women carrying on what must have been a 30 minute conversation about the Kardashians, including each woman proclaiming which Kardashian sister is her favorite and why.
Now, for anyone who is unaware, there is a TV show called “Keeping up with the Kardashians”. I have never seen the show, but from what I understand, it involves the events of the Kardashian family, primarily revolving around protagonist Kim Kardashian, and includes following her and her sisters while shopping, patronizing various bars and clubs, and everything in between.
Anyway, the whole time these women are carrying on this conversation, as they are each rattling off a list of mind-numbingly shallow reasons for why they think the sister they selected is better than the others, I keep thinking to myself “Why? …Why do you care?” It is sad, really. Why are these grown women devoting so much time to discussing the lives of these television “stars” who they don’t even know?
I kept thinking “How does any part of the Kardashians’ lives, or knowing anything about them, affect you and your life?” The answer, of course, is it doesn’t. I wanted to say to them “If you watch the Kardashians that much, and if you can’t find anything better to talk about, then you are in serious need of more substance in your lives.” Of course I didn’t say that, because obviously no one would respond very well to that kind of a comment. It was certainly running through my head repeatedly though.
This is a true story, but it is also a great example of how your choices of conversational topics say a lot about you.
Now, I’m not here to judge people, and I’m not judging those 3 women. Obviously, they are free to do what they wish with their time, and if they want to spend so much time watching and talking about the Kardashians, then that is their choice. They have the right to do so.
The Bottom Line
It’s simply that I feel sorry for them, and everyone like them. Their lives must not be very satisfying at all. It seems that their lives are void of value and fulfillment. Being obsessed with celebrities makes it very difficult to be your own person. Yet, I bet virtually everyone reading this knows someone who is obsessed with celebrities. I find it sad to think that people allow so much of their lives to be filled with things of so little value. These types of television shows and the magazines that promote obsessions with celebrities are just fluff. They fill time and space without providing any value while doing so.
One could say that these are negative ROI investments. That is, you invest your time and energy into these things, but they provide little or no value in return. Your return on investment (ROI) is thus negative, because the value (if any) that you received is worth less than the time that you spent to get that value.
In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with getting caught up in this sort of material once in a while. As with most things, moderation is key. However, if you find yourself watching so much of a TV show like the one mentioned above that it’s your primary choice of topic for conversation, then you should probably stop and think about that for a minute. While thinking about that, remember, your choices of conversational topics say a lot about you.
The next time you’re watching a show like that, try asking yourself some questions like these:
Am I getting anything valuable out of this?
Is any part of this benefitting me or helping my life in any way?
Is there something else that I can spend this time doing to create value in my life or to benefit me or my life in some way?
If you answer yes to one of these questions, then great. Next, ask yourself if what you’re getting out of it is worth the time you’re spending on it. However, if you cannot answer yes to any of these questions, you are liking spending time on negative ROI fluff, and you may want to consider changing the activity that you’re doing.
What do you talk about?
You can usually tell a lot about a person just by having a conversation with them, or even by listening to them have a conversation with someone else. In most cases, the topic that a person chooses to talk the most about is what that person spends the bulk of their free time doing/thinking about/etc. From this, you can often deduce what that person’s priorities they are, and thus what kind of person they are. A lot can be learned about someone’s personality this way.
Think for a moment. Ask yourself “What do I talk about the most?” Consider your answers to that question and what they say about you. Are you happy with what your answers say about you? Could you improve any part of that?
Keep in mind that I’m not trying to judge anyone here, and I’m not trying to preach at anyone. I’m only pointing out that your choices of conversational topics say a lot about you. I simply want to offer my perspective on how to lead a more fulfilling life that is full of value and deeper, longer lasting happiness.
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