“The weather is bad today.”
“I slept horribly last night.”
“I have so much homework–I hate school.”
These short phrases are often some of the first words of the day that come out of my mouth, and they’re often the first words I hear. Whether we’re trying to relate to others through negativity or just share our thoughts, it’s as if complaining has become an increasingly popular and all-too-common form of communication.
Especially within Generation Z, the likeliness that people will only point out the negative things in life has become overwhelming. But are these complaints justified?
We’re surrounded by a world of negativity. From Covid-19 ruining monumental moments of our lives and taking away our loved ones to the climate crisis and devastating economic problems, Generation Z has experienced and is continuing to experience its fair share of bad things.
So yes; to some extent, I think our complaints are justified. However, giving the negative parts of our life the spotlight is perpetuating more negativity in our lives and the lives of those around us.
I’m sure we’ve all been around the person who finds something wrong in every situation. To try and combat their endless complaints, we’ll try to kill the experience with kindness. Personally, I’ll try to highlight the positive relics and focus on those. But there’s always that likeliness that my happy comment will get shot down with an even harsher negative one.
It’s an endless and exhausting cycle.
Eventually, I’ll give up. Attitudes are contagious, and negativity spreads a lot faster than positivity. Sooner or later, the complaints are all anyone involved can focus on, despite their initial feelings of joy and happiness.
For the longest time, I was really guilty of being the “Negative Nelly.” It was so easy to point out how long service would take at a restaurant, how hot and humid it is outside, and how I dreaded doing my homework and going to class. After sulking in the bad for so long, I finally forced myself to recognize the good.
It’s like flipping a switch. You have to train yourself to flip the bad complaints to praise and thankfulness; consequently, this will leave you feeling happier not only about your surroundings but also about yourself.
Complaining is okay in moderation. It’s how some people express their emotions. But, when it’s not compensated with positive comments, it can get old quickly, and it can ruin relationships with others and oneself.
Sure, there are a huge number of horrible things we can point out, but why should we give negativity our energy? Imagine if we took our negative feelings and transformed them into positive, inspiring ones that encouraged change. My guess is that there would be less to complain about and a lot more to appreciate and enjoy.