Be The Change

Yesterday I ended talking about how some people start of with a complaint and end up turning complaining into a way of life. They turn into complainers who only see the negative and they feed off one another. I don't think anyone means to become a complainer rather they start off venting about an issue as anyone would but instead of saying their peace and letting it go they allow it to consume them like a cancer and soon they are constantly miserable and constantly complaining. I work with a lot of complainers. Every office, school, church, etc has its complainers. Here at my office we have people who complain about their workload and how morale is down and they want management to fix everything for them. What my colleagues and other complainers need to understand is that it isn't up to our managers and supervisors or anyone else to improve morale, it is up to you. We are the masters of our attitudes and the ones who decide how we are going to handle a given situation. It's the old "if life gives you lemons make lemonade" outlook. It is a cheesy overused saying but it is true. You don't like the work you do or the amount of work you have? Change your job or change your attitude. Why do we think others should fix things our problems? This isn't the America that our fore fathers fought and died for. America was built by men and women who did something instead of complaining and asking others to fix it for them. If the founders of our country dealt with things the way many do today we would still be a British colony sending our complaints to the Queen asking her to fix it for us. Don't let other people control your happiness! We control our attitudes and we are the ones who are in charge of our happiness! You can either sit and wallow with other complainers bringing each other down or you can rise up and show everyone else a better way. If everyone would commit to stop complaining to each other and instead lift each other up your office would change 100 fold. Misery loves company and attracts more misery. Negative, unhappy people have a way of finding each other the way Google has a way of finding websites. They seem to have a built in GPS that is able to locate other miserable people wherever they are and together they spread their unhappiness like a virus. People today don't want to do the hard work to pull themselves up out of their misery rather they look for someone to blame and demand they fix it! Management doesn't dictate if your office is a great place to work anymore then our Government decides if this is a great Country. It is the people that make a place great be that an office, a home or a Country. Everyday we have a choice to either affect our world for the better or worse. It isn't easy and often it is a choice that needs to be made constantly over and over again.

Of course once you make a decision to have a good attitude and be a positive influence on others that doesn't mean you will always succeed. There are times you just won't feel like trying. It is in those times that we need to recognize how we are acting and pull ourselves out of our funk. Just last night I found myself in a negative mood. I wouldn't call it a bad mood but it wasn't good by any means. I was just kind of withdrawn and in a bit of a funk. Tiffany noticed and called me out so I could rise above it but all I did was get more irritated. I don't know why I was in a mood other then I just wasn't trying to be in any other type of mood. I allowed myself to get complacent and lazy and wallow in my own emotional filth. I could try to blame my attitude on a small headache I had or on the long day at work but when push comes to shove it was just my own fault for not trying to be better. The result of my bad attitude is that Tiffany didn't have a great night and when she woke up today she felt down and in a bit of a funk herself. I am not quite sure what affect I had on our guests that were over but I imagine that they aren't going to be jumping at another dinner invitation from us too quickly. All because I made a choice to not have a positive attitude.

We make millions of choices each day and I believe that the most crucial choice that we make is what type of attitude we are going to have. Life is tough and it isn't going to get easier. You can make a decision today to be positive force on this world or you can make a decision to complain and be negative.

A few months ago I came across a quote by Gandhi that really impacted my outlook on life. He said "You must be the change you want to see in the world.". It is up to us to make a difference at our work and in our homes. Don't hand some one else the keys to your happiness and trust that they will lead you the right way. Take control of your life and of your workplace and make a difference! Be the change you want to see in the world!! Be the change you want to see in our Country! Be the change you want to see in your office! If you commit to having a better attitude it will spread and soon you will find yourself in the environment that you used to ask someone else to create for you. Be the change!