In conversation there are a few different kinds of things people can talk about. Ranking them from least useful (and most annoying) to more constructive:

1. Gossip about celebrities.
2. Gossip about other people.
3. Expounding on bad things from the past.
4. Expounding on bad things in the present.
5. Dwelling on anxiety about the future.
6. Discussing the past as it applies to the present.
7. Discussing the past as it applies to the future.
8. Discussing the present as it applies to the future.
9. Discussing what great things the future could hold.

Not all conversation is created equal. And all conversation is trumped by any action that carries you forward along the lines of #9.