Ever been around that person who always has something negative to say? Ever been around the person who can find something to complain about no matter how good things are? It is draining. Draining to be around that person and also draining to be that person. It takes a lot of energy to be perpetually unhappy. To be on the constant look out for things that aren't ideal for you.
The squeaky wheel mentality may be beneficial in the work place, but it doesn't translate well to the rest of or lives. The squeaky wheel may get their way, but at what cost? The cost of friendships, the cost of tearing apart the team, the cost of killing dreams... how long can we be absorbed with ourselves at the expense of others?
I was having a conversation a couple of weeks ago and the person jokingly said "Okay, let's take the focus off of you just for a minute". Ouch! But that is the reality of whining. It is all about you. The definition of being selfish. The negative attitude, the entitlement, the perception that all things should be as you want them, the whining until we get our way, the temper tantrum (it looks even worse on an adult than when you see a 3 year old doing it)... there is only one way to really fight it... being willing to serve in love. Serving means taking our eyes off of ourselves and looking to someone else's best interest. It may not feel natural and that is part of the point. We are naturally selfish, but unselfishness is counter-cultural.
The effects of whine are subtle. If you are reading this and thinking so and so needs to read this. Be careful because you may be the whiner waiting on an intervention to happen. There is a place to be critical and look for improvements. There is a time to challenge things. But can you honestly say it is in the best interest of others or is it about you?
1 comment:
I've been totally dealing with this right now, and the same thought crossed my mind, "how should I react to that? If I react with retaliation is it not the same thing?" So thats where I am right now trying to figure our what to do. By the way the funny thing about someone saying let's take the conversation topic off of you is that you never talk about yourself, I can never get you to talk about what's going on, and if I do it's like two sentences. Well anyways, we will get together this summer several times.
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