Enough Already

I have no tolerance for whiners! No tolerance at all. These people moan and groan about all the reasons their life isn’t better. They blame everything and everyone: their age, their income, their education, their gender, their family background, lack of education, the government, the president, the Channel Five weather guy, bullies, and spouses. Enough already!

I must make a concerted effort not to act on the urge to jump off my house, so I try hard not to allow the whiners to get to me, to 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: making an excuse for an individual’s lack of effort, confidence, and laziness.

I’ve compiled a list that I offer to the whiners of the world. These are just a few things a whiner can do to improve their life, and they require ZERO talent. Here are five solutions with minimal risk, cost nothing, and no talent is needed.

1. ATTITUDE: It is said that 85% of all success is based on attitude. You choose entirely whether you are a sourpuss or happy. If you have nothing to be happy about, just be happy that you woke up this morning. You choose whether you have a “survival” mindset and continue to get by, or a “possibility, thriving” mindset and always be on the lookout for opportunity.  Be clear with yourself what your attitude is, and then either accept it and shut up, or change it and allow a positive attitude into your life and all it has to offer.
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! Although some whiners will make being late a great excuse to whine about traffic, the weather, their job, or some other cockamamie issue.
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. People with a thriving mindset and a positive outlook work hard when they’re happy, and they work hard when they’re not. They understand whether they like the job or not, feeling that 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. Again, hard work requires no talent!
4. TRYING/EFFORT: Trying requires no talent. I recently heard a story about a man 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. ARGH. What a line of whiner bull. The guy 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. At least try to make an effort of some kind to take some level of action.
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 people who whine about everything, looking for fault in everyone, repulse me. I don’t even want to breathe the same air. They must be videotaped and forced to watch it and tell us what they see. Unfortunately, many will see nothing unusual. However, this kind of person can infect an entire workplace, and managers and leaders must protect their teams from these people. It requires only honest awareness, and a mindset change to at least ACT like you have more energy. That simple act will change your vibe to everyone around you, from the workplace to home.

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, blame, or whining.

You will be amazed at how your universe might immediately change. Take some responsibility or understand that you’re ok with your “whiner life”, accept it, and then shut up and don’t infect the rest of the world.