It’s A Good Time To Stop Complaining

“Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” - Teddy Roosevelt

2016. So much has been said about what an apocalyptic year it’s been that I don’t think I need to attach any adjectives to it. Whether considering the year from a personal or collective perspective, the general consensus on the past 365 days has been apocalyptic. Pandemics, war, economic desolation, political upheaval and the most high profile celebrity deaths in a lifetime were the main ingredients of an unpalatable soup we called life. Who would have thought that a year that started with the Zika virus would end with the even worse disease of populism?

Yep, it’s been an eventful year and it’s been easy to find fault with it and as such, complain about everything and everyone. The problem with this is that like everything in life, Pareto’s law of 80:20 seems to apply and in this case it states 80% of people who you share your problems with are glad you have them and the other 20% don’t care. The reality is that complaining is not a successful strategy in a life where our time and energy are limited. This means that any time we spend bitching and whining probably won’t help us to achieve our objectives. And it damned well won’t make us happier. Okay it might if you’re narcissistic but I’m guessing most of you don’t have Trump-like levels of self-delusion.

As we head in to a new year, traditionally a time for creating positive intentions and implementing new life strategies let’s have some perspective. Firstly, we’re all still here. We have life and where there’s life, there’s hope. If you’re able to read this then congratulations because it means you’re cognisant, breathing and interested enough about change to want to make a difference; and if those aren’t reasons enough to celebrate then I don’t know what is. Secondly, there are way more of us than them. People who truly believe in social justice, equality and basically, love, exceed the fearful, spiteful and cruel. I’m not going to reel of reams of statistics detailing who won the ‘popular’ vote (that still seems weird to me) in America, how many ‘Brexiters’ didn’t understand what they were voting for or the overwhelming numbers of millennials who are opposed to populist movements. You can check any government statistics or reputable news outlet for that. But believe me when I say there are millions of like-minded souls who want a world that the next generation can be proud of.

So, let’s make a commitment to stop complaining and start taking action. Drumpf and his ilk cannot abide criticism, protest and ridicule. So whenever you feel the anger, frustration or despair that inevitably rises like bile in the back of your throat take action. Write a letter to your MP (or representative in Congress if you’re in the states) because they have to respond to letters and can ignore phone calls. Join in the street protests and marches against demagoguery. Tweet them mercilessly but with wit and humour. Teach your kids about life, love and justice. Create political movements that are representative of the people if you don’t like the ones you have. Revolt. Resist. Do something. Anything. But do it with love. Because the Trumpists, Brexiters, populists and all the insular, tiny selfish people on the planet see love as a weakness. And that’s why we’re stronger than them.

Happy New Year.