WORSE THAN ROBO CALLS.

I originally wrote about this subject nearly fifteen years ago. And again, just last year. And, if you notice, occasionally, life smacks you on your head to remind you that not everyone is as focused on continuous improvement as you are. And just this past week, life smacked me, making me aware of just how much I truly despise and deplore whiners. 

I have no tolerance for whiners! Less tolerance than I have for robocalls, and I hate those. I have no tolerance at all. I never have had. This week, I found myself working with a client who would take no responsibility for any of his personal or business issues. He was an A, #1, gold-plated whiner.  These are people who moan and groan about all the reasons their lives aren’t better and are never willing to do anything about it. They blame everything and everyone: their age, their income, their education, their gender, their family, their lack of education, the economy, the governor, congress, the president, the Channel 9 weather guy, bullies, spouses, and their athlete’s foot. 

Enough already! 

I sometimes must make a concerted effort not to act on the urge to jump off my house, so I try hard not to let the whiners get to me and spoil my passion for life and my belief in our collective potential. The fact is that whining does no good. It never solves anything. It’s just what it is: someone making an excuse for their lack of effort, confidence, and pure laziness.

I do try to help this segment of humanity to improve their thinking through mentoring and coaching, but sometimes it feels hopeless. So, I’ve compiled a list that I offer to all whiners of the world. The list details just a few of the things you can do to improve your life that require zero talent, cost nothing, and need only some effort to work. 

1. ATTITUDE: It is said that a full 85% of all success is based on attitude. It’s your choice to whine about your circumstances or to look for the possibilities that life has to offer. It’s your choice completely.  If you don’t think you have anything to be happy about, then just be happy that you woke up this morning. You choose whether you have a “survival” mindset or a “possibility” mindset. Zig Ziegler would famously say, “It’s time to do a check-up from the neck up!” Take a hard look at yourself. Be clear with yourself about your attitude, and then either accept it and just shut up, or change it. 
2. BE ON TIME: How hard is it to be on time for meetings, appointments, and family gatherings? You don’t have to be Einstein to be on time! And, the world doesn’t really care that your alarm didn’t go off, or you were tired, or traffic was bad. We don’t care. Being on time is a necessary discipline of life. 
3. WORK ETHIC: Working hard requires no talent. The difference between those who succeed and those who are professional whiners is usually their ability to work. They work hard when they’re happy, and they work hard when they’re not. They understand that, whether they like the job or not, they owe an honest day’s work to the person who gives them a paycheck. It’s that simple. A work ethic outpaces talent, education, IQ, and any degree. Those things mean nothing if you’re not willing to put them to work. If I had to choose between tenacity and talent, I would choose a person who is tenacious every time. Again, hard work requires no talent, just effort.
4. TRYING/EFFORT: Effort requires no talent. I recently heard a story about a man who was in trouble with the IRS because he hadn’t filed his taxes in years. When asked why, he said that it wasn’t his fault. No one ever showed him how to fill out the paperwork. Whiner. No, he was just lazy. Well, maybe more than that. Maybe, stupid and lazy. A whiner deluxe. People like this will blame everyone except themselves, yet they’ve never even tried to figure it out, fully aware (maybe) of the consequences. By the way, the IRS didn’t go for his excuse. They didn’t care. 
5. ENERGY: No talent is required to show some energy. The Beach Boys had it right when they sang about Good Vibrations. People do emit good and bad vibes. I must admit that perennially negative people, who live with a victim mindset, whine about everything, and look for fault in everyone, repulse me. I don’t even want to breathe the same air. They need to be videotaped, forced to watch it, and told to tell us what they see. Unfortunately, many will see nothing unusual. But this kind of person can infect an entire workplace, and managers and leaders must protect their teams from them. It requires only awareness and a change of mindset to at least ACT as if you have more energy. That simple act will change the vibe that you project to everyone around you, from the workplace to home.

I’m sure you can add to the list, but the point is simple. In a professional or personal life, whining gets you no further than you already are. The time is now to commit to a life of no more complaints; No more blame; No more whining. 

You will be amazed at how your universe might immediately change. Take some responsibility today, now! If you don’t want to make that effort, then please understand this. You need to acknowledge that you’re ok with your “whiner lifestyle”, accept it as your norm, admit that you’re satisfied with your “now”, and then just SHUT UP and settle in as an observer and allow the rest of the world to leave you behind. 

Because it will.