If you don’t like something change it. If you can’t change it change your attitude; don’t complain.
—Maya Angelou
In the comments to last week’s post, Life Isn’t the Way It’s Supposed to Be, we discussed the joys of complaining. When my favorite job went down the tubes with a change in management, I had a great time complaining to my husband for almost a year. He was a great listener, and quite frankly, it was a fun and easy way of getting attention. Finally one evening he gently said, “You’re really letting this get to you, aren’t you?” Oh, oh. It was fun while it lasted, but it was time for me to move on.
That incident points out one good reason to stop complaining–it’s boring to the people around you. It was still fun to talk about what was going on at work, and my husband agreed. Things were as crazy in his division as they were in mine. So we started sharing funny stories riding home together. I would say, “You’ll never guess what happened today….” He would top my story with something even crazier, and we would laugh. We started looking forward to finding and sharing stories. That was years ago, and we’ve continued the tradition by trying to focus on the absurdities in situations we have no control over. The great truth is, laughing is even more fun than ranting.
But don’t take my word for it, experiment with a no-complaining rule and see how it works for you. Find a buddy to share it with if you can. If not you might try reading this article and these testimonials. Then try joining a complaint-free world for a while and share your experience in the comments section.
I found your site on google blog search and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. Just added your RSS feed to my feed reader. Look forward to reading more from you.
– Sue.
Though my first reaction was: how boring it would be, to totally stop complaining, I do think you’re right..
I do believe, how strange that may sound, that complaining with co-workers does have a habit of growing the team spirit, and relaxing some frustration built up inside of you..
However, focusing on the negative side, will take energy, instead of give it. ‘Complaining’ with a positive attitude, joking about it as you described, or discussing how things may be improved, might just do the trick..
But then again, that’s probably not labelled as ‘complaining’, is it?
Thanks for the reference to the ‘complaint-free’ website!!
Ellen,
“But then again, that’s probably not labeled as ‘complaining’, is it?” That’s the point. It’s all right to talk about things you don’t like and especially to see if there’s some way you can improve things. But getting in a negative mindset just saps our energy and makes us feel helpless. Not a healthy way to operate.
Laughter is a great way of releasing frustration.
🙂 Thanks for coming by.
Sue,
🙂 Thanks for coming by and for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
Haven’t you noticed that horrible situations are often, the most hilarious later.
bikehikebabe,
Sure. Basically this post is asking, “Why wait until later? See the humor now.” It saves a lot of wear and tear on our bodies, and we’re a lot more fun to be around.
Complaining is a crap magnet. It sets your mind to attract more to complain about. Notice people who blame and complain alot, do they ever stop? No because the attract what they focus on.
If you want your life to work well with success and abundance then you must focus on the outcomes you seek.
Excellent blog and keep it ging strong,
Joseph
http://www.ExploreLifeBlog.com
http://www.Peace-Together.com
Joseph,
I couldn’t agree more: Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Thanks! 🙂