Daniel Skognes

If you are like me, you probably get tired of being around people who complain. Whiners tend to dwell on the worst case scenarios: “I will probably get fired, so why try? I hate this marriage. I am out of here! Why can’t I get a break? Why is everyone on MY case?” Blah blah blah.

Am I wrong? Don’t you know someone who fits that bill? You either have them in your family, your work place, or in your circle of friends. Here is the problem with complainers…they are contagious. They are not happy wallowing in their grief alone. They will tell anyone willing to listen about all of the injustices they have suffered until someone is sucked into their misery.

If you are dealing with a complainer in your life, here are a few suggestions you might want to consider:

• Try to clarify the reality of the situation so that they can see it for what it really is…not what they imagine or worry it could be.
• Help them to start looking at things differently. It begins with learning to be grateful. They have to learn how to be thankful for what they have and learn to be content regardless of the circumstances. He who maintains a positive attitude in a bad circumstance wins.
• Sometimes people who are bent on complaining are so warped in their perception you literally have to quit trying to convince them it is going to be OK. You can pray for them, but if they won’t listen to reason, why are you wasting your breath? I do understand the desire to not give up on someone, but you don’t want to cross the line from supporting someone to enabling them. That is a fine line that you do not want to cross.
• Help them develop the habit of positive thinking. Words matter. If all they do is continually spout negative things over their lives, they are going to reap what they sow; they will either speak blessings or curses.
• Quitting an attitude of complaints may require something radical. It might mandate a change of friends. Negative friends will pollute their thinking. You might have to draw some hard lines for them to adhere to for everyone’s sake, including their own. If you want to know what someone is like, spend time with the friends they hang with. We are all a reflection of the people we call friends.

I hope that we can start living with an attitude of gratitude. Quit complaining, and start living the life we were intended to live. Be thankful not for the circumstances, but in all circumstances. Life is too short to live with a glass half empty. Opportunity is in the other half of the glass.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 3rd, 2017 at 5:57 pm and is filed under Business, Motivational, Relationships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.