I have had it.

I am so tired of listening to people constantly complain about work, school, the weather, politics, their significant other, or any of the other issues that are apparently causing extreme and debilitating unhappiness. Yes, I realize the irony of this post, as I am complaining about people who complain. Don’t care.

I have just about reached my breaking point! On Friday I worked at the school for 8 hours and then at the restaurant for another 8. Needless to say, I was exhausted when I finished my 16-hour workday. Physically tired, yes, but more so mentally and emotionally. For 16 hours straight I listened to two different sets of co-workers complain about everything imaginable. It’s raining, it’s too sunny, I’m hungry, I’m too full, I’m busy, I’m bored, I hate our boss, Kelly is lazy, Jason is annoying….when did everybody become so unhappy? More importantly, why do I have to listen to how miserable everybody is? I have a secret for all of you that like to complain and whine about your personal issues nonstop: nobody freaking cares.

I think I am going to start politely telling people that I cannot listen to their troubles anymore because I am trying to stay positive. As silly as it sounds, negative people really do impact me. I can normally tune them out, but after awhile it gets exhausting. There is only so much head nodding, trying to look interested, and saying “man, yeah, that really sucks” I can do.

Of course everybody needs a good rant every now and then (e.g. this post), every now and then being the key words. If 90% of your conversations are you complaining about something, do yourself a favor and make a lifestyle change. You may think that other people are genuine when they offer their condolences because “your boss is a meany pants and treats you unfairly”, but I promise you, they are secretly wishing you would stop your whining and suck it up like an adult. Guess what? Life isn’t fair.

Whether you work at McDonald’s or a successful law firm, you are going to deal with unfairness, lazy and uncommunicative coworkers, and nasty customers. You are just labeling yourself as an immature, and frankly, a boring person when you constantly gripe. Think about it, interesting people don’t complain a lot. Do you think they simply don’t have things to complain about? Their lives are always fair, always easy, and worry-free? Of course not. They have problems just like the rest of us but they choose to handle them differently. They choose to make themselves focus on the positive, and discuss things other than how the vending machine variety sucks. THAT is what makes them interesting.

I am going to challenge myself to not complain. It does absolutely no good, and it is detrimental to your health and happiness. I truly believe that thoughts become things and the energy you put out into the world will come back to you. I have experienced this first hand.

I encourage you to challenge yourself. Play devil’s advocate to yourself when you feel wronged or taken advantage of. In a crappy situation, don’t immediately run off to the next cubicle and complain about it. Do something. Fix it. You might be surprised at how good life can be when you give it a chance. When you don’t drag other people into your senseless drama, they will start treating you better. It is a snowball effect in the best way possible.

*An afterthought- I don’t want any of my friends reading this to think they can no longer come to me with their problems, concerns, and even trivial complaints. That is what friends are for and I am ALWAYS happy to listen and offer advice. Venting about something to get it off of your chest is healthy, I don’t ever judge people for that. This post is referring to people whose only method of conversing is complaining.

“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others…By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”
-Gordon Hinckley