I can’t stand whining. Harsh as this may sound, I have no patience for people who throw themselves pity parties on a regular basis. What irks me even further is when these parties continuously have the same themes. Regardless of what awful thing they are lamenting, it always boils down to one ubiquitous statement among whiners: poor me.
Funny enough, they spend more time and energy complaining than they ever do to change their situation. We live in a world soaked with the desire for instant gratification at low cost. We want everything now, and we want it without having to pay. For some reason, we all feel entitled to more. Some work for it, and some whine for it.
What these grumblers so often forget is that complaints rarely ever change anything, even when there’s a Complaints Department that’s paid to listen to you whine. These customer service agents are there to reassure you that it really is an awful situation you’re going through, and they sincerely apologize for that. Sympathy oozes from their tone, and they make you feel vindicated, as if justice has already been served simply by someone acknowledging that you have been wronged.
If you’re complaining simply to fish for sympathy, you’re fishing in a pond of goldfish. When you get one it’s nice at first, swims around aimlessly in circles for a while but usually dies quickly and is fated to be flushed down the toilet. That’s just about how useful sympathy is.
If your boyfriend doesn’t appreciate you, dump him. If you think you’re heavy, join a gym. If you hate your job, look for something else. Stop hiding behind cries of stability, slow metabolisms, economic crisis, and a million other obstacles that tie you down to the comforting status quo of your misery. So few situations are actually out of our control, yet so many people use them to justify their resistance to doing anything that will help them reach for more with their lives. They position the injustice as a permanent hindrance to happiness, whereas it’s usually a temporary hurdle that can easily be jumped over.
That is, if you want to make the leap.
There’s one big rule in my life: if I don’t wake up every morning happy to be doing whatever it is that I’m going to do then there is something wrong. Something has to be changed. Identifying the problem is often tough, but the bigger challenge is actually changing it. Change is never easy, as it brings with it uncertainty on a path that’s often not lit.
And of course, some people are just afraid of the dark.
Do the world a favor and think the next time you are about to put negative energy out into the universe. Dissatisfaction is actually an extremely powerful tool when used properly, so don’t waste it. Instead of just voicing it and letting it bounce off the walls, you are completely capable of turning it into a force that will help you change your life.
That is, if you’re really willing to change.
