Focus on the sad and depressing

You know what, man? I wish I was smarter.

You're already smart, farmboy.

No, I'm not. I have so many regrets already. I've made so many fuckin' mistakes, man. I just can't believe how dumb I can be.

So, farmboy, what's bringing this on?

I don't know. I guess I think about my past and my life and my mistakes too much. I focus on the wrong things. Seriously. I've gotta do what David Foster Wallace said in that graduation speech he gave at Kenyon. You know, about how you can change what you're thinking, and about how sometimes it's really kinda required to survive.

So I've been trying lately to change my thinking, 'cause I just fuckin' focus on the sad and depressing, you know? 

I do know, farmboy. I've noticed that you do that. But  lot of what you focus on is from good sources. You watch depressing movies, but they're good depressing movies. Same with books, same with articles, podcasts, music, et cetera.

Yeah, that's true. I guess what I'm mainly thinking of are things like comment sections and fuckin' journalism that's no good. I mean, I guess I gotta be picky about what I leave out as much as what I take in.

Exactly. See, you are smart.

Or lucky. Or, most likely, a combination of both.