I Believe in Not Complaining
Mom
always says my glass is half full, meaning that I prefer to see the bright side
of life, I never beat myself up for what I did in the past (I can’t change
anything) rather I think about what I am going to do in the future and how I
will do things differently and perhaps better by changing my behavior. I also
believe that complaining about my situation doesn’t help me get through tough
times or hard days. It actually makes
things worse. If when I am having a bad
day I count my many blessings and think about how great my life is, I start to
feel much better and appreciate how much my Father in Heaven loves me. That doing hard things with a happy heart
helps me to grow and develop into the kind of person He wants me to be. I read a post on the internet a few weeks ago
that I liked very much so I am going to share it with you.
“An old friend recently caught me off
guard with this message:
“Judging from your Facebook posts,
you've never had a bad day in your life."
I replied with a laugh, “Oh,
really?”
He answered by describing his
frustration that sometimes his friends use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to
run what he calls an “unrealistic highlight reel” of their lives. Every day is
good news, kids who win shiny trophies, gummy bear sculptures and stunning
photos of meals that could’ve been prepared by Emeril Lagasse.
“Bam!”
Maybe he’s right, I thought, and I
promised that the next time I had a difficult day, I’d share it and add a dose
of reality to my social media presence.
Well, my rotten day just arrived,
but it didn’t come alone.
It brought friends.
My downer day became a week.
One promising writing project was
delayed — again — and another was cancelled all together without a whiff of
warning. The latter was one of the most exciting of my career and involved a
giant on the Fortune 50 list, a Fortune 100 player and a little fish in the top
250.
I’ve had vehicle trouble — twice —
that left me on the side of a mountain road and, the next day, an interstate.
My beloved truck’s next stop is probably on Craigslist for $50 and a bag of
Fritos.
There were serious computer issues,
a lost credit card, a diamond jumping from my wedding band, broken glass on the
watch my wife gave me for Christmas, a hateful email from a reader, and the
list goes on.
Oddly, as I started to post the
woes, I kept getting stuck on two words that were in my head, but not on the
list: “So what?”
I had a tough week.
And?
Everyone has trials.
All we can do is forget the last
minute, the last hour or the last week and prepare for the next. What's the
point in stripping apart a difficult day to study the broken parts? I'd rather
just build tomorrow.
To my pal who thinks all my days
are perfection, think again. Just because I don't dwell on them doesn't mean I
don't get punched in the mouth like everyone else.
Bad days are inevitable —
complaining is not.
I’ve had my share of challenging
days, weeks and even years.
He does, too.
And, so do you.
Wouldn’t you rather give fuel to
the good days and starve the bad? If we do, we just might grow more good days
to share.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe some of us
use the Internet to paint unrealistic pictures of our lives. We gloss over the
disappointing report cards, the burned bread, the job we didn’t get and the bug
we did.
You know what?
That’s just fine.
Our friends, both digital and in
the flesh, should never doubt that we’re always here to listen. But they should
also understand that we’re much less interested in the pitch they missed than
how they plan to send the next one over the fence.
Yes, misery loves company. But so
do optimism, hope and humor. And if you think negativity is contagious, try
love. It’s downright infectious.
I sure hope my buddy forgives me if
I continue to share the positives in my life like faith, family fun and
publishing projects. And I hope he knows just how many people are waiting to
cheer his good days, too.
I suppose, if pressed into a
negotiation, I could scale back on the Facebook photos of food truck tacos. But
the gummy bears are here to stay.
A guy has to draw a line.”
Jason Wright is
a New York Times best-selling author of 10 books, including "Christmas
Jars" and "The Wednesday Letters." Learn more at jasonfwright.com, or connect
on Facebook at facebook.com/jfwbooks
or by email at jwright@deseretnews.com.
Jason sums
up how I feel, I believe on focusing my efforts on the good things in my life
and not complaining about how hard things are and in doing this I believe my
life is fuller and richer. I believe optimism, happiness and love is contagious
as is misery, sadness and hate. The
Father never said it would be easy, He only said it would be worth it. I am sure one of Gods attributes is optimism
and I am sure He never complains. I chose
to follow His example and I Believe in Not Complaining.
