"The benefit to complaining is that you are never alone." *

the great wise musician, joe walsh, once said, "i can't complain, but sometimes i still do." i have to start this entire post by saying this is strictly my own personal opinion. oh, and also, i complain a lot.

how do you feel when you hear someone complaining? you might say, "well, tony, you good looking dude...it all depends on what they're complaining about." for the most part i would agree. for me, i can't stand it when people complain about things out of their control. here are a few examples of what i'm talking about:

-the weather
-gas prices
-traffic
-taxes
-growing old
-democrats
-republicans
-justin bieber

complaining about things that are IN our control is a totally different story that maybe i'll get to someday, but what are we to do when we hear people complaining about the uncontrollable types of things? nothing, right? nah. i say we start a freakin' revolution. i think we can make a difference. what if during these scenarios we react like this:

The Weather Complainer:
weather complainer: man...this weather is horribly cold. i mean...i can't believe how cold it is. i shiver. i hurt. i don't breathe normal. i can't feel my fingers. i have to scrape my car windows EVERY single morning and i have to watch where i step or i might slip and fall on ice! there's even snow on the ground! ugh...can you believe this weather??
new optimistic/anti-complainer: (while smiling) unfortunately...i can believe this weather. statistically, this season we're in is normally like this. (pull out paperwork with statistical graphs and fancy color-coordinated pie charts) see (point at paperwork), last year we had this type of weather and the previous year we did, too.
weather complainer: you're right. after seeing those statistics/charts...it's just plain silly to complain about the weather. it doesn't do anyone any good. it's just something that happens, and if i truly have a "problem" with it...i should move somewhere where the weather is predictable and a kind of weather that i enjoy. thanks for your help, friend!

The Gas Price Complainer:
gas price complainer: DUDE! $3.45 a gallon!?! what the cuss!?! back in my day...gas was a nickle. just a nickle....not even per gallon. you just pulled up and took as much gas as you wanted/needed and gave the guy a nickle! you know, this is all obama's fault!?
new optimistic/anti-complainer: although it's easy to point fingers at who's fault this is...i don't know if it's worth it. plus, my mom always told me it's not polite to point, but you know what we can do? we can opt for purchasing fuel efficient vehicles. or better yet...we can commute to work if you're lucky enough to live close to your work and you could walk or ride a bike. what about setting up a carpool? in my case...i just suck it up, pay the $3.45/gallon and try to drive less or budget for it!
gas price complainer: oh...well...it still sucks and what you say is true. although i can't afford an electric car or have an opportunity to carpool, i think i'll start budgeting my money better to be able to afford these gas prices. maybe then i won't have to waste as much breath/energy complaining. thanks for your help, friend!

now these are just a couple of scenarios and obviously unfortunately each one won't go this way, but you get the point i'm trying to make, right? what if each and everyone of us (including me) just try to complain less (or try to neutralize negative conversations)! i'm at least going to make an attempt to complain only about the stuff that is in my control. if i'm complaining about things that are in MY control, then guess who can change these things for the better....







*the quote from the title was said by byron pulsifer