We all do it. It even feels good to do it at times. To “get it off my chest” and unload. But don’t let the “misery loves company” temptation get you pulled into participating. It’s easy, it’s even fun sometimes to sit with coworkers and complain about another coworker, the job you have to do, or management. It’s easy to let off steam with your spouse at the end of the day and complain about those very things. At least the latter of those two had the sense of not involving others into your narcissistic black hole of complaints, it was just the one poor spouse that had to take one for the team. Nothing good comes from complaining. It’s a very selfish act. My complaining you are putting your burdens and frustrations onto someone else and hoping they help carry your burden and/or wave a magic wand, pat you on the back, grab you a beer, and make it all go away.
When I look back at the times I’ve complained, and I believe this to be true for almost all people, the very thing I was complaining about was actually something I could control, I just chose not to. Complaining is always easier than fixing. It’s much easier to say why someone else dropped the ball when you sit back and minimize your responsibilities so that others will hopefully not complain about you behind your back.
Think about times that you have complained about anything. I will bet you that you will find some way that you could have taken on additional responsibility, even if it “wasn’t your job”, and found some ownership and a solution to the problem. When you take ownership of your job, your life, your finances, your income, you will find that the buck stops with you. If you’re not happy about someone’s performance, don’t get caught complaining about it, either help find a way to make sure their performance doesn’t get in the way of you performing, or figure out a way that you can improve the process to not have to rely on someone else’s performance. I do know one thing. There is always a way. Take ownership. Nobody cares about your complaints. It doesn’t make you interesting. It doesn’t make you special. It only degrades you. But, when you take ownership and take risks and take on additional responsibilities you will find that it’s much more interesting and important to find solutions, not just the problems.
“Nobody cares, work harder” – Cameron Hanes
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