The Culture of Complaining

Ever find yourself thinking if I hear ________ one more time, I might blow a gasket? I'm there.

The culture of complaining that I feel we have grown accustomed to really needs to end.  It may seem ironic that I am complaining about complaining, but I would like you to consider that in my opinion, if you bring possible solutions to the table, a complaint can be a means to an end or the vehicle through which something is remedied.  That is what I am attempting to do here.

I have challenged one of my classes to go complaint free for the remaining 13 days of classes.  I realized that was going to be quite a paradigm shift, so I amended it to that period for the remaining 13 days.

I gave them a three pronged filter to ask themselves every time they felt the need to complain:

1. Do I have the all of the facts for the subject I am about to complain about?
2. Do I have solutions to bring to the table regarding the topic I am complaining about?
3. What is the purpose of my complaint?

I asked them to be cognizant about what comes out of their mouth and to be conscious in their choices when complaining.

I followed up with a couple phrases that might be old hat to those of us reading this blog, but are probably a different way of thinking about things for my audience today:

1. You may not have control over the situation, but you sure do have control over how you react to it.
2. The only person that can control what comes out of your mouth is you.
3. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
4. Complaining is an easy habit to form, no matter your age.  You are what you make a habit of, choose carefully.


I am intent on changing the culture of complaining.  It does us no good.  It is liberating to free yourself of the habit of complaining.  Once you make that paradigm shift, the world is much sunnier place!   Are you with me?