When you’re being an idiot…

…it helps to have good friends to let you know.

Earlier today I was sitting at my work computer doing a seemingly endless series of mind-numbingly boring, repetitive tasks. I was annoyed that I couldn’t figure out a better way to do them, I was annoyed that the system wasn’t flexible, and I was annoyed that I even had these tasks to begin with. Both hands were bothering me a bit as a warning to stretch to avoid repetitive stress injury. Basically I was not happy.

I needed to take a break and vent a bit, so I flipped over to Facebook. I updated my status with the light-hearted, but still complaining:

My life is an endless repetition of point-click, Alt-Tab. Then there’s a flurry of Ctrl+C, Ctrl+P, just to keep things interesting.

I got a couple of sympathetic comments incorporating the same light-hearted computer references from people who have similar jobs. But I also got a comment from one of my oldest friends who, in the same light-hearted tone, told me I was being an idiot:

life’s tough for you Jeff I can see that

I can completely hear the sarcasm in my friend’s voice as he says that, with a little laugh at the end.  He’s right, of course. I’ve got a relatively cushy life. First of all, I have a job — far from a given in the current economy. I work most days from my home, in nice air conditioning, listening to music when I can, and barely needing to leave my home office.  I’m not doing any heavy lifting. I’m not sweating in 90 degree temperatures. I’m not working in dangerous conditions. Many people work way harder than I do, and many are unfortunately not compensated as well.

Beyond that, I live in America, where (along with other “developed nations”) the standard of living even in the poorer areas is orders of magnitude above that of the “third world” — something that’s all too often forgotten or ignored (more on that).

So I was bored and my wrists hurt a bit. It’s not that that isn’t a problem — it is — but it’s also important not to lose perspective.

I hope you all have friends you can count on to give you a reality check when you start to feel sorry for yourself. We’ve all got problems, some of them major, but there’s always someone worse off than you and it’s helpful to remember that sometimes.

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