Teach Me Not To Complain
Complaining seems to be about the easiest thing in the world to do. I was a master at it in high school. Whether it was football practice or band practice, or crappy dinners or lame homework assignments, you would hear me complaining about it. Now of course I would still do it all and the funny thing is I wasn’t complaining necessarily about what I had to do. Often times I was grateful for what I was given and the chance to be busy.
No, it was just because it came too naturally, as if I was supposed to do it. And do it I did. In the later years I got better about it, but it was still engrained in me and so if I wasn’t careful, it would peek its ugly head out and start its thing. And because of that I have had to learn how to control myself.
In doing so I learned that the complaining was just a symptom. It was outward evidence of my inward unhappiness. In high school, I’m sure it also had to with my immaturity, but in the later years, it was just trying to get out of me to show me that something was wrong. It was trying to let me know that I wasn’t living my life in way that was satisfying.
When I began to turn my life around and live it in a fulfilling way, slowly but surely, the complaining started to die down. Not saying it’s all gone now, just saying it is not as prevalent in my life as it used to be.
When we see that a lot of our live is defined by the complaining we do, we need to take a look at ourselves and try to understand why it is we are complaining in the first place. For some it may be that your just not that interested in others and seek only your selfish desires. But for most it is just as symptom.
Either way, though we may live in a world plunged in way too much tragedy and pain, it is still our duty to be the best we can be. This is especially true for those of us who are going after our dreams and hoping to leave our imprint on the world. This is also true for those who have children or people around them that look up to them.
So when you find yourself complaining about everything, take a look inside and make sure your are person you want to be. And make sure you are living a life that makes you happy.
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Posted on February 22, 2012, in Teach Me and tagged About me, Change, Community, everyday things, Family, Fear, Friends, Health, Help, Hope, Inspiration, leadership, Life, LIfestyle, People, Personal, Reflection, success, Teach Me, Thoughts, Writing. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
True, complaining is so easy, and not such a beautiful thing. Unchecked, it may become such a big part of someone that people start avoiding him/her as a negative person. I’m a very outspoken person, and when I feel something is not right I have a tendency to just speak out, plainly there and then. At one point I realised it can be a big turn off, so when things aren’t right I try to stop myself by holding my tongue, and focusing on whatever else is right and going fine.
I like your blog and the topics you cover. Thanks for sharing.
Ya I understand exactly what your talking about. I’ve had to learn that same lesson that it can be a big turn off.
Thanks for the kind words.
Excellent post with a powerful message! Complaining gets you no where, doesn’t solve anything and just annoys anyone that is within ear shot of you. More people need to do what you suggest & look within so they can learn to count their blessings instead of complain about shortcomings.
Yep so true. We have to keep evaluating ourselves to make sure were better then the complaining.
Hi, I can ‘so totally’ relate to what you are saying here but in a slightly different context. I have a young son (bright, intelligent, sporty, creative, imaginative, always needing to be fully occupied – sounds great doesn’t he?) but he is a complainer and a fault finder. I’m always asking myself, how did this happen?, is it inherited? is it nature? What do I do to help him? It’s great to read that other people grapple with these issues too. I feel reassured! Nice post! Thanks.
Ya it can be tough. When we’re younger we don’t quite realize how much we do it. But hopefully as we get older we see the things we need to work on and we change.
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