Release the Need to Complain

It’s normal to get frustrated from time to time, and complaining to a friend or coworker is sometimes the quickest way to feel better. It’s one thing to vent—a short, get-it-all-out-of-your-system rant—and quite another to let venting become chronic complaining. Chronic complaining is counter-productive for you and draining to those listening to you. I’m sure you’ve known someone who’s a chronic complainer. After a while of listening to someone like that, it’s easy to lose sympathy for them or even feel like they bring you down.

In order to be effective, you need to release the need to complain and move forward to finding solutions quickly.

How do you release the need to complain? One of the things I’ve found effective in avoiding Chronic Complaining Syndrome is to ask myself, “Given what’s going on, what IS in my power to do?” And then I move forward to do that. There may be a lot of things out of your control, but there’s always something you can do. And the more you concentrate on that, the less you’ll concentrate on complaining—and the more solution-oriented and productive you’ll be.

This week, release the need to complain. Move to solutions and concentrate on what you can do. Avoid Chronic Complaining Syndrome. And come share your success stories with us so we can all learn together.