The Art of Complaining

Complaining is a way of life for some people. We’ve all done it and some of us love it- giving out about this and that. Some people grumble about the dismal Irish weather and others about the heavy traffic jams on their way to work.

Sometimes when we complain we are simply showing acceptance of what has happened, such as when we are talking about the hardships we have to endure due to the worst recession ever. At other times we complain in order to ensure that we are not accepting a particular level of service, such as being kept waiting for ages before the waiter/waitress takes our order.

There are various degrees of complaints – some people would just be happy enough to complain about the person who skipped them in the supermarket queue while waiting for their turn to be served while others would go all the way to making a formal complaint in the hope of getting a compensation for their stress. Protests are also another type of complaint which has become very popular due to the various government decisions about public servants wage cuts, decrease in social welfare payments and the list goes on and on.

So what’s wrong with people who see the glass half empty rather than half full? Complaining has negative effects on both the mind and the body. Each time you repeat something negative you have a tendency to believe it more and more. Eventually it becomes your reality. The same goes for something positive that you repeat all of the time. one day you find yourself reaching that goal because each time you say it to yourself it becomes more and more of a reality. So, we can rightly say that positivity wins over negativity.

Also most businesses nowadays have established complaints procedures which also encourage customers to complain in order that the company may give them a better service and ensures that all customers are being treated in a fair manner.

As American writer Dale Carnegie points out: ‘Complaining is not ignorance, but action’ So instead of complaining about something maybe we should try and see how we can find a solution to the problem.

Often the public is actually urged to complain. In his book ‘Complaint’ Julian Baggini mentions the claim made by a British firm of solicitors dealing with personal injury cases saying: ‘ Have you had an accident or been injured in the past three or assaulted in the past two years? You may be entitled to compensation’. This quote highlights how we are living in a culture whereby complaints are encouraged and can get us a long way if we are willing to voice our grievances.

Although we have every right to complain we should avoid complaining about things which we cannot change and try to accept them, because in such situations complaining will not get us anywhere but will just frustrate us and prevent us from moving forward in our search for happiness and satisfaction.

If we remember the following quote by Dean Hawkins we would definitely start making our lives easier:

For every ailment under the sun

There is a remedy or there is none

If there be one try to find it

If there be none never mind it