Another Monday morning, and it’s a great time for complaining. Gotta wake up so early. Traffic is always a mess. This job is the worst.You may not have a lot of options for improving your situation right now. But, you can change how you look at it
This is especially true if you’re a complainer. Let’s look at some ways to ratchet down the tendency to complain.
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How To Avoid Complaining
Remember the phrase from the poem Solitude, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox? The line is, “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone”.
The same can be said for complaining. If you’re a chronic complainer, you may want to rethink that tendency.
One problem with complaining is that too much of it becomes less effective over time. Are you really unhappy with every situation you’re presented with?
It could be a sign that you have other negative situations going on in your life. You need to choose your battles, as they say.
Let’s say you have several situations that make you unhappy. Pick the one you most want to focus on for improvement.
It will be easier to get your point across if you limit the frequency of your complaints.
There’s a right time to complain. But it should be done in the context of offering up alternatives.
Be part of the solution and not part of the problem. If you only offer a complaint, how is that helping solve the problem?
Offering solutions will show your willingness to have a stake in solving the problem.
A good approach is to come up with more than one solution whenever possible. This will help get more people to see your side of the story.
If you’re someone who complains a lot, take a step back. Think about others who are chronic complainers as well.
How did you react to their constant stream of complaints? Did you think to yourself that the person should try to help solve the problem?
If you answered yes to this last question, this is how others are thinking when you complain.
Complainers often feel like no one’s listening to them, usually with good reason. And the increased frustration could lead to their alienation from the group.
This is not a good situation. Management could be more likely to let the complainers go. Or the complainers might take it upon themselves to leave.
Complaining is considered negative thinking, but it’s a changeable habit.
Begin that change by shifting from negative to positive thoughts.
Your peers will likely find fewer faults with you. And they won’t go out of their way to avoid you if you maintain a positive attitude.
If you find that you complain a lot and people are avoiding you it may be time for some changes.
JohnK 3-26-2018
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Overheard: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
~ Max Planck
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