Pointless Complain

“But my nose is running!” What do you have hands for, ‘Idiot’, if not to wipe it?

– Epictetus

Grumbling about almost everything is the favorite pastime of so many individuals around the world. People waste so much time and energy on something as futile as complaining. “The weather is hot. The government is not functional. Young people these days are rude. Babies cry too much. The service here is not standard”. It takes a lot of self discipline to not complain or to stop complaining. Can you go one day without voicing your disappointment and dissatisfaction about people and the world, if you can then you are quite disciplined.

Managing complains need self control and it can be viewed as an exercise. Whenever you feel irritation you can become aware of what you feel. The less you voice your dissatisfaction and irritation the more composed you become on the outside. Nobody really wants to be around a person that grumbles about everything, no one wants to be around such negativity. Rather than stage a protest find productive outlets, create an action plan which will help you find a solution.

Starting now, try to go as long as you can without voicing your irritations. You will be surprised the amount of mental energy and time you will have saved for more productive endeavors. Whatever the trouble, it should also enable you to find a solution. If the government of the day is not favorable try as much as possible not to make it into a big issue, leave that for the newspapers. What we complain about become too big for us to manage. Silence make things small and also give conviction to find a solution.

The real cesspool of constant complaining, however, is in the work place. When colleagues fail to cooperate, have no motivation to contribute to problem solving, have a negative mental attitude, such can lead to irritation and the feelings of annoyance. In such scenario the choices are to either complain or tackle the matter wisely. Motivating people is not an easy task and getting people to cooperate may be daunting but with patience, setting the example and keeping cool, people may come to be infected by your standards.

Complaining does not change our circumstance but taking action does. It only draws attention to the negative which bring about greater negativity. It never results to joy only sinking us deeper in our misery. Grumbling also disqualifies the value of discomfort in our lives. Discomfort both physical and emotional can have profound benefit in our lives. There are qualities we build such as patience and perseverance when we accept and not grumble during times of difficulty.

In the end we come to see ourselves as the victim when we constantly complain. We develop the habit of blame in constantly looking for the outward source of our miseries which are always far from the truth. We neglect finding the right cause and solution for our problems. When we always see ourselves as victims, viewing the world and its people as the source of our heartaches then we may never see the need to end our favorite pastime.