Is Your Glass Half Empty?

Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with a friend and then before you know it, you realize it's not a conversation, it's more like a complain-fest. I hate to hear complaints. I rank complaints in the same category as whiners and nags. Granted, we all have moments where life just gets the best of us and we have to let off a little steam. I call this venting. But, the operative word is 'moments'. Complainers see the world's glass as half empty all the time. They almost hope that things won't go right so that they can have an opportunity to whine about it. And then, because misery loves company they nag to you about their disgruntledness hoping that you'll feed into it and help them keep it going.

My personal way of dealing with complaining is to quickly figure out what I can control and what I can't. If a particular establishment always has poor customer service, I may complain about it once. If I experience the same behavior again, I'll boycott the place. I think right now, I've got about 3 places on my boycott list. I can't control how they treat me, but, I can surely control how I spend my money. There's no need to talk about it. Just do something about it.

Whiners are the woe-is me tribe. Everything is worse for them and you always have it better. "Well if I had what you had, I wouldn't be in this situation." "Of course they're skinny, they've got people helping them. I work all day."BLAH BLAH BLAH We all feel down and like we just can't get a break sometimes. That's a part of life but the glory is in figuring out how to get up. Figuring that out takes a certain amount of self empowerment and confidence. It's all in the baby steps. You have to figure out small things that you can do to get yourself out of the doldrums bit by bit. Then do them.

It's incredibly draining to be around people that see the glass as half empty. If you were in a good mood when you met them, you'll probably be sad or angry by the time they leave. And sometimes, these people actually have the nerve to feel better once they've transferred all of their complaints and whines to you. That's pretty selfish. The bottom line is that your view of the world is your choice. If you want to see your glass as half empty, recognize that you've made that CHOICE. It's funny how when you expect to see a thing, that's the ONLY thing you'll ever see.

Holla