Weekend Engagement - Reflecting On Complaints

Do you think you complain too much and does it block positive forward progress? Explain.

Well, I am not perfect. I do complain once in a while, but the question is, how much is too much? I believe this varies across individuals, as we as humans do have different levels of self awareness and sense of self entitlement.

If I were to reflect solely on myself, i.e. without any comparison to other people around me, I feel that I used to complain a lot more in the past or when I was younger, and as I grew up and become mature, I still complain but I definitely have mellowed down and complain a lot lesser.

Does (excessive) complain block positive forward progress? I think it depends on the situation. I feel that while there is some link to these two things, they actually can be viewed independently. One can still complain to let out some frustration, and can eventually reflect on the mistakes and makes changes to improve the situation. Complaining only blocks progress when one is fixated that they are always right and the fault always lies with other parties.

Since I mentioned that I have changed over time, maybe it's interesting to share what changed.

Some of the stuff that I used to complain, but I don't complain now, include:

• Time Management: I think I used to complain a lot about how busy I was, how I needed to do this and do that, and that time was never enough. Fast forward to now, the reality that I have come to terms with is that we will all have 24 hours, and I should take more ownership of my own time and decide how and what to allocate these precious 24 hours. These include being more efficient with my planning, rejecting requests from friends or colleagues, and learning to say yes to things that mattered and more importantly, no to things that were not so urgent or important. This meant I had to ditch my "people-pleaser" personality and that's okay, because we don't live to please the world, and we will never be able to do that.

• Finances: I think I used to be very particular about every single dollar (or maybe cent) was spent. Since young, I was brought up to be very thrifty and careful with spending because of my family background. We were probably middle class and I always had enough, but my parents' spending habits definitely had an influence on me. And sometimes, when you are a teenager, it's tough seeing your peers having the latest [insert the brand] watches or [insert the brand] jeans. Hahaha. I shall not expose my era by stating the brands, but it's definitely iykyk. Anyway, fortunately, by sheer hard work, my income has grown steadily after years of working, and my savings have also grown because of my thrifty habits, and I felt that I didn't have to scrimp every dollar. And it's less stressful that way.

Speaking of which, I just spent SGD 9 (USD 7) on this matcha float earlier this week because I needed a sweet treat to cheer myself after a lousy day at work. To most people, this is probably not quite "value for money" but I like matcha drinks and desserts so are very willing to splurge on these stuff. Pretty sure I wouldn't have spent on this ten years ago. Haha.

Alright, that's all I have! Thanks for reading my post about complaining but not quite a complaint post. :P