Stop Complaning



Photo by Bethany Legg

I always feel slightly attacked when someone says ‘stop complaining’.  I’m compelled to respond with, “But you don’t know what I’ve been through, you don’t know my life!” And while my assertion is correct, someone who urges me not to complain is also correct.  As positive as a person as I strive to be, I know that I can always find something to complain about.  Complaining is contagious--one person starts up and then a whole domino effect takes place.  I’m convinced that some friendships were founded upon the mutual desire to complain to one another.  While there is a need to vent from time to time, I’ve noticed that complaining often does nothing to solve my problems.  In fact, complaining can make existing problems linger.

My Year in Review

I can remember it like it was yesterday:  A little more than a year ago, I found myself in a very difficult

space.  I was discontented, exhausted and at the end of my rope.  In my frustration, I declared, "In six months I won't be in this position."  That statement, uttered out of desperate defiance, was the catalyst for one of the most amazing transformations I experienced in 2017.  Despite the barrage of dismal news stories that dominated the media, 2017 was by and large a great year for me.  I overcame some of my biggest fears, met new people and did a lot of traveling.  Here are some my biggest moments of 2017: