You think THIS is bad?

I had a crap day today. I have some rental property, and aside from the fact I had to pay $400 to fix the air conditioner last month (on top of $300 for the FIRST sales call that accomplished the square root of f**k all), it now appears the community is turning into crack town. I went to a homeowners’ association meeting and it was a horrific. The residents there recited a litany of scary stories. But they weren’t even as scary as the people making up the “board” supposedly looking after the place. I couldn’t sell it now if I threw my own house in for free as a bonus. I just have to hope my tenant doesn’t run screaming from the place before his contract is up.

But you know what? All things considered, I have it pretty damn good at the moment.

And if you’re reading this, I can tell you, YOU have it pretty damn good.

First of all, you can see. Millions of  people in the world can’t do that. Secondly, you can read. And probably a few billion people can’t do that.

Most likely, you had the money to pay for a computer AND an internet connection. For millions of people, the price of that connection is more than they will earn in a month. Millions of people live on less than ONE DOLLAR a day. But that’s the least of their worries.

A few hundred million parents will bury their kids tomorrow. A few hundred million kids will never see their 10th birthday. While 60% of the adult US population has too much to eat and hides the surplus under its collective sweatpants, a very large percentage of the world population only gets the caloric equivalent of one small order of fries every day.  If they’re lucky.

I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad about the rest of the world, or to get you to do something about it. I’m telling you this so you’ll maybe look on the bright side for a moment or two each day.

He’s an asshole? You hate the fact you didn’t live happily ever after?

You’re having a GREAT day. You’re still alive. You can breathe, and see, and eat. You have a toilet that flushes. Pizza delivered. You have it pretty damn good.

But for months, even years afterwards, you’re still hashing and re-hashing every little way he did you wrong.

You know what? Too damn bad. It could ALWAYS be worse.

Most “bad” things that happen to us aren’t bad at all. They’re a royal pain in the ass. They hurt. They’re irritating. But they’re not bad.

I’ll tell you bad. Critical illness, dismemberment, starvation, death – those are bad things. Those are things without easy solutions we can control.

Disappointment, heartache, frustration, bankruptcy – not exactly a picnic, but definitely possible to overcome. Except by complaining.

I fear we have become a society of whiners. Moaning, complaining and grumbling are now encouraged, if not celebrated. In fact, moaning has become an industry, all on its own. 

Bookstores have shelves packed with guides on how to complain effectively. Reality TV is only interesting when the participants kvetch.

Well I get sick of it. And you should be too. You should be sick and tired of hearing yourself do it. Because it’s a complete waste of time. While you’re pissing and moaning, your life is ticking away.  The time you’re spending complaining that the world is against you, is productive time you’ve completely squandered.

Just imagine all the creative energy that is lost every single day because we waste it complaining, or gnashing our teeth over what some idiot “did” to us during the day.

Every single healthy, conscious moment you have in the land of the free is a GIFT my friends. You are free to dream, and do and progress. You are free to learn and try and succeed.

But you are a loser if you prefer to spend that time complaining. It’s unproductive, and it makes you look ugly besides. You spill stinky negative energy all over yourself and everyone around you, and let me tell you, it stains. Spill enough, and it becomes permanent.

Now there’s nothing wrong with being dissatisfied. On the contrary, it’s a great motivator. Dissatisfaction spawns desire and starts the ball rolling for improvement and change. But I guarantee you’ll never be able to fix the thing you’re complaining about simply by complaining.

You will need to DO something. Change your behavior, or motivate someone else to change theirs. Or both.

And don’t whine to me about how hard it is to change. Nobody ever said it was easy, but nobody said you have to do it all at once. 

You got where you are today little by little. Your life is the way it is today because of a gradual progression of minor events. And that’s the same way you’re going to be able to change. Gradually. The only thing that will happen overnight is your commitment to stop whining. 

If things aren’t going the way you want, or you’ve hit an obstacle, or life is more pits than cherries, stop complaining and change! But first be thankful for what you DO have, because it could ALWAYS be worse.