"Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining." - Theodore Roosevelt
I've been getting caught in a loop of complaining lately. Well, whining if that quote is to be believed (and I'm sorry if Theodore Roosevelt didn't actually say it, I searched up quotes about complaining and it came up). Complaining about my grades, about my teachers, about my friends, and about life in general. I haven't been present, actually present in anything, always thinking about school or a different stressor and my grades don't even reflect that because I get so consumed by this need to do well that when I get to the day that I need to do well, I'm burnt out. Being present in a moment and not consumed by music or by my thoughts is really hard for me because I've always been so connected. I've had a phone since I was 5 and that helped me a lot, but once my teenage years hit, it hindered me. I began to rely on being connected through my phone instead of making genuine connections.
I also see a lot of people around me complaining about something or another so it's become a default for me to connect with people. I'd rather focus on positives or making jokes or something else, but it's a crutch. The problem with complaining becoming a crutch is that it starts to seep into other aspects of your life. I was on my way home from school today and I caught myself complaining so much more about the drivers around me. Usually when I'm alone in my car, I just tune into my music and vibe. But lately I've been catching myself complaining about traffic or about something I can't control at that moment. Complaining is an easy habit to get stuck in and it's not something I want to cultivate in myself anymore. Some people like complaining, they find it relieving, but I was talking to a friend today about how I can't help myself to try and find a solution to a problem, even if it's someone else's. That still holds true to me and I still do that for a lot of my friends, but when it comes to my own problems, I can get so caught up in "woe is me, I'm the only one with this problem" that I don't focus on solutions.
The opposite of complaining is gratefulness. It's being thankful for what you have in your life that often goes ignored. I want to live a life that shows how grateful I am for the people around me. How grateful I am for the life I've been able to live. I have been truly blessed and in my day to day life, I can forget that. We can't always change our circumstances, but we can change our attitude towards our circumstances. I want to do that right now so I'm going to take a moment to thank everything in my life right now.
My family for always being there to support me and for always standing with me through everything.
My friends for putting up with me and for not giving up on me, even if I've given up on myself. My car for being my place of comfort
My camera for helping me see the world in a different light
My laptop and iPad for holding me throughout the semester when no one else is around
My phone for letting me write down my thoughts wherever I am and helping me to flesh out what I want. You, the person reading this, for reading this. Thank you.
I hope that you cultivate a thankful attitude. That whatever you do in your life, wherever you go, you'll be thankful for the people around you and thankful for the opportunities that you've been given. It is so easy to get caught up in your day to day life, to live your life only thinking about today and everything that's gone wrong, but that's when you need to think about everything that's gone right up to that point and what can go right in the future. I have a ring that says "Live life and have hope." No matter how you live your life, I hope that you always have hope and that you always appreciate what you have, even when wanting for more.
Have a fantastic day and thank you for reading,
Alex Risdall :)
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