The Inertia of Complaining

“Too many people go through life complaining about their problems. I've always believed that if you took one tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.” 
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

People frequently complain about complaining, I do this myself.  Everyone knows that when you have something that annoys you, seems unfair or makes you feel bad that complaining solves our problems and relieves all the stress- it recharges and reinvigorates our energy.  No?  It doesn't make you feel better?

That's surprising...

Let's try a different approach, say to yourself “It’s not fair. It’s not fair they have the high paying job, . It’s not fair they have the big house. It’s not fair (insert what you are envious of here).” That should be the last time you say any of that because the shocking truth is life isn’t fair. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose so badly it is embarrassing; but that is life. We have to realize that there are some things we can change and a lot of things we cannot. Instead of complaining about the things we cannot change we should focus on the things we can. We should put all of energy into changing the things we have control over and not waste energy complaining.  Complaining is not going to help any situation and most of the time we complain about the symptoms not the problem.

Sometimes complaining is passed off as "working through our issues" but the truth is that it is only talk excusing our inaction.  

Think about it; if we do not get enough sleep, we complain that we are tired. If we spend all our money, we complain that we have no money. If we are not having a good time, we complain about how bored we are. All the things we are complaining about are just results of the real problem. If we are tired it is because we did not get enough sleep and complaining about how we did not sleep is not going to give us energy. The only thing that will do that is to sleep (although those 5 hour energies can help), so go to sleep earlier. Yeah, you might have been up all night doing that paper but how long did you have to do it? Complaining is also not going to make money grow on trees. If you want more money work more hours, do not buy that $200 pair of shoes, or manage your money better. If you are bored, find something to do or change your attitude and start having fun.

Yes, it is alright and probably healthy to have a venting session every once in a while. And yes, you can be doing everything right and things still may not work out but like I said life isn’t fair and complaining is not going to change that. So instead of complaining, take that time to figure out the solution to your problems. Invest in the future instead of complaining about the past. Words are not going to change your situation, so stop complaining and take action.