Why is it so satisfying to rain on a parade? Especially if it is an undeserved parade! It is probably one of my favorite things on this planet to watch someone walk around like God’s gift and then immediately watch them deflate as their ego is not stroked. The other day this guy at work walked in claiming to be “on fire” because his clients were all showing signs of progress. I am glad that people are making improvements and even more so when multiple people do so, but this particular co-worker only does half of his work, makes life more difficult for the rest of the office and frankly he gives me the creeps. So the instant he started talking about how “on fire” he was I just went to town.

“What kind of fire?” “What is the fuel source because if its oil based you can’t use water to put it out.” “Do we have a fire extinguisher?”

 

At this point my supervisor caught on and started assisting in the take down.

“Should we call the fire department?” “I believe the fire extinguishers are at the main entrances to the building.” “Make sure to pull the tab before attempting to use it since it won’t work otherwise.”

He just asked us why we had to ruin his moment and walked away. The satisfaction was indeed great. I do not recommend raining on all parades. Especially now, we need as many parades as possible with all the colors and glitter and feather boas we can find. However on the occasion that someone wants to simultaneously make your life more difficult and get praise for it, please deflate that ego and watch it’s slow decent.