Spilling my Guts

You could try doing more listening and less talking. People like that. But listening with empathy has the perverse effect of rewarding the talker for sharing his woes. That’s a problem because if you cause someone to focus on his own misfortune, you make things worse for him. In time, the talker will associate you with all of his most unpleasant thoughts because that’s the connection you keep reinforcing.

- Scott Adams in another great post. (Anyone who has ever talked to me knows how much I enjoy his blog.) This passage perfectly described the sad truth behind the death of several formerly-great friendships of mine.