How often to you complain?

Think about it, and be honest with yourself when you answer, how often do you complain?  I’ll be honest and say I do complain and I often do it without even thinking about it, likes it’s a really bad habit and it IS a really bad habit!

Have a look at social media and people seem to bitch and complain all the time, especially about other people.  And with all the photo-shopped images that are around it makes people also think way to negatively about themselves.

Complaining is actually detrimental to a happy life.  When all you do is complain about everything ‘wrong’ in your life you’re focusing on the negative and by doing so, you’re bringing more negative into your life.

If you you’re not going to put any effort in to change your circumstances then don’t bother complaining!  Generally, complaining is pointless, you either need to act or forget about it, dwelling on it just makes you miserable.

You need to start looking for the positive in those otherwise negative situations, and there are always positives.

One thing that I do know is that I can look for and find the positive in a lot of situations.

Someone I know has applied for a number of jobs and hasn’t got one yet, and I also know that she’s down about it, as is natural, but I say to her, every job interview that you go to is practice for the right one, each interview is teaching you more and more how to present yourself, how to answer questions how to show the real you.

And every job that you don’t get, that’s one less person trying to go for the same job that you are – when you apply for that next job, they won’t be, because they have one.

When you wake up in the morning start the day with a little thank you that you woke up – because someone has just lost a loved one who didn’t.

Try and enjoy all the moments more, try looking at the situations differently with a more positive intent.  It’s not easy to do at times because we can feel really low and thinking that the world is against us, or everyone else is lucky etc.  But it’s a hell of a lot easier to do when you actually don’t give a thought to what everyone else is doing or not doing.

Just focus on you and your life, enjoying it for what it is, trying to make it better, stepping out of your comfort zone, learning to be true to who you are but most importantly appreciating you and what you do have, instead of focusing on what you aren’t or don’t have.

Monty keeps me awake half the night, because he sleeps on me… yes, I complain about it but I shouldn’t, I should be thankful that I have a comfortable bed to lie in and that we have a dog that loves unconditionally and that because I’m self-employed I can usually sneak a bit of a nanna nap in if I have to.

Maybe you don’t like the cold, at least you get to wear your winter woollies and it makes you look forward to spring and summer.

Hate the heat?  Be thankful you have air-conditioning or maybe a fan or at least electricity so you can run these things!

I’m not saying that you have to be positive all the time  I mean that’s pretty much an impossible task, right?!

I believe that it’s perfectly OK to be cranky that it’s cold, but don’t unpack and live there and focus on the fact that it’s cold,  but flip that negative – try and counteract it with a positive.  So, for example, you may say “crap it’s freezing today” but then think how blessed you are that you have warm clothes and heating in your home etc.  or maybe you want to say “crap the kids are pissing me off today” but then counteract it with “but I’m so blessed that I was able to have children when so many can’t”.

You’ll find that by acknowledging the negative but focusing on the positive that you’re life will suddenly start to get better …. Because you’re viewing it that way.

So, start a new habit, when you think a negative about yourself or your life, take a moment to think of the positive of that as well, because there is always a positive.

I’d love to hear what positive you find in situations that you would normally complain about.