You won’t make any progress if you’re pointing fingers
When was the last time you caught yourself complaining about how unfair life is? (bet you didn’t have to look far back for that one! ;))
Or, you had to listen to someone else go on and on about their “problems”?
We keep complaining like ours is the biggest, heaviest burden to bear.
If I had a cent for the times I’ve blamed someone or something else…
“My wife is getting in my way.”
“My boss sucks.”(oh, this was awhile back, in SL)
“The economy is fucked.”
“Freelancing just doesn’t pay well.”
And on, and on, and on.
It’s never on me.
Till about a year ago, I was in neck-deep in that shit.
Even now, I’m barely out that hellhole. A tiny lapse in focus and I’d slide back in.
It is easy to blame our failures on someone else. It’s easy to say “I’m new here and no one is giving me an opportunity”.
Easier still to say, “I’m doing my best. They just don’t seem to get it. They’re out to get me”.
Well, boo hoo!
What is the point in complaining about it to your wife? Or friends? or on social media.
Go to the root cause of the issue.
There is no point in reporting to work hoping that you’ll be allowed to do your best work. There will be meetings. There will be unexpected issues. Your colleagues will get in the way. There’s no way around it.
Instead of complaining, why not look at the situation objectively?
How is leaving your fate in the hands of something you can’t influence the sane thing to do?
To improve your circumstance all you can do is look at what you can change.
Meetings getting you down? Arrive at work one hour early and get shit done!
Is getting to work on time a problem? Wake up earlier than you normally do and leave home 15 minutes early.
No time to focus on your freelance hustle? Stop bitching, and wake up 30 minutes earlier in the morning and get to it. Or, work on it as soon as you get home from work. Or, before you go to bed!
When I stopped complaining, I started seeing solutions.
When it comes to writing, I had heaps of excuses. Then i though, “ENOUGH”.
I committed to writing on Quora. Answering just 2 questions a day.
Looks promising, but far, far away from what I seek.
Am I delighted? You better you ass I am.
Stop pointing your finger at things you can’t control.
Stop killing everyone’s else’s vibe with your bitching.
Here’s what I’m doing with every challenge:
- Write down the challenge (or goal) on a piece of paper
- Write down each and every factor that contributes to it. Nothing’s too small here.
- Cross off anything that is beyond my power.
- Highlight everything that I can do towards making this happen.
- Start.
Most often than not, you’ll find that there is one crucial factor that you can control, thus effectively improving your situation.
Worst case, I’ll improve my mindset, learn a few lessons and handle the negative shit!
What are you waiting for?
P.S: this one leaves a lot of loopholes and gray areas, all of which will be tackled in upcoming posts. :)
