She did it again. On every seemingly momentous occasion in the brief life of my child daughter, my cat spews projectile vomit. She knows her life is about to change and she is not happy. I know that babies also spew projectile vomit, but I'll go on record and say that I'll love my child more than my cat, so I'll be able to put up with it a bit better.
Luckily, this isn't a weekly occurrence for my cat. And the only other time she puts up a fuss is when the litter box hasn't been emptied to her liking or it's past her dinner time. So, all in all, I can deal with the biannual vomit fest.
Most of the time, when my wife asks me my opinion on something, I say, "It doesn’t matter to me." She is often befuddled at how so many things can not matter to me. I don't know why, but I think I only really care about 20% of life. There is a small handful of things that I loathe (The Nashville Sounds) and a small collection of things I’m fanatic about (commercial air travel). The rest rarely gets me upset, elated, or opinionated.
It makes for a good marriage. And it makes for a happy life. Knowing which battles are worth fighting and which events are worth cheering means I can better devote time and energy to things that really matter to me, both personally and professionally.
I'd encourage you to do the same. Before you gripe, yell, scream, argue, protest, sing, dance or jump around, decide if it's worth it. Once you stop being that guy who nitpicks everything to death, people will like you more. And, when you are no longer that girl who thinks everything is fantastically awesome, people will really notice when you think something is fantastically awesome.
It's simple supply and demand. When your approval and distaste become rare, they become more valuable.
Image credit: scragz