Think about it for a moment. If someone starts telling you how wonderful they are, it turns you right off. But when you’re trying to get a job, that’s what you have to do. There’s no choice. You identify your ‘good points’, call them ‘strengths’ or ‘personality’.

It seems to me I’ve made my choices in life by a process of elimination. This means I’ve focused on what I can’t do rather than what I can; what doesn’t interest me, rather than what does; what’s painful rather than what’s enjoyable. I’ve narrowed things down by eliminating the negatives.

People who talk clearly about what they dislike tend to be more interesting, focusing more on specifics. They’re probably more honest. Maybe more sincere.

The client didn’t seem at all sad when she arrived, nor when we were on our way to the karaoke box, nor when she was singing, but after she started to talk about her grandmother, she gradually became more emotional and, in the end, she began to cry. Probably, talking about her grandmother’s death made her face it, accept it as something she should be sad about.

It’s about enjoying the absurdity of swimming against the tide of efficiency.