Comments on: Stop Complaining

By: Wylie

Wylie — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:15:28 +0000

… am I the only one that finds this a little bit pretentious? I understand that peoples’ lives are completely miserable… and FAR worse than mine, but that doesn’t mean that I need it waved in my face every other day. Call me a cynical bastard, but I think posts like this are too prevalent and seem to be less of a humanitarian effort and more of a “Look what a humanitarian *I* am” effort.

Do I feel for these people? Yes, I truly do. There’s nothing in the world more painful than photos like this and the knowledge that most are likely recent and ALL show the world for what it really is.

Do I need to see these pictures as often as I do? No, thanks…

By: Leo

Leo — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:40:45 +0000

You have to understand that people complain about the government because these poor peoples lifestyle is a bi-product of us. USA is an empire and we divide and conquer smaller countries to sell us their cheap resources. So if we worked on the US infrastructure then we can help the whole world.

By: Jerrold

Jerrold — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:26:46 +0000

One time I read a self-help book that said complaining was a sign of weakness. My roommate then started complaining about something and I said “You know what’s worse than that? The Holocaust!” In retrospect, that wasn’t very helpful of me.

By: Savings Toolbox

Savings Toolbox — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:04:48 +0000

really great reflection.

times are hard now for many people not used to worrying about money. More and more people are complaining about the most ridiculous things. And it seems that no one is ever happy.

In just a few short photos, you’ve knocked us all down a peg and reminded us that it could ALWAYS be worse.

Great job!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:18:50 +0000

Good post. Very, very good post.

By: Grey

Grey — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:20:50 +0000

Hi. Found this through Smarter Wallet. It brought tears to my eyes, particularly the photos of the starving children. I really do have to sit back and consider my affluence, at times.

By: Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting

Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:18:51 +0000

Wow. This made me cry! You are so so right. It is just so very hard seeing children hurting like that.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:16:38 +0000

I agree with Shadox. I think we should strive to make things better in the world given its inherent inequalities. But that does not mean we do not have the right to complain. Everyone has the right to complain about what they view as stressful in their own lives. You are right though, that putting things in perspective does help us cope.

By: Shaun Connell

Shaun Connell — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:35:20 +0000

Wow. That’s all I can say. Those images proved the point perfectly.

By: Shadox

Shadox — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:16:07 +0000

Perspective is a good thing, but I think that lack of contentment is what drives us to achieve the next target. If you keep telling yourself that someone else has a worse job, do you reduce your incentive to work hard and find a more challenging or a better one? If you think our society is unfair, should you feel better by the fact that there are places in the world where people are even less fortunate? Sorry, I don’t think so.

Perspective is important, but so is context. I know that there are children starving in Africa, but other than contributing to charities to try to alleviate their suffering, how does this comparison help you to improve your own circumstances?

Here’s my take on it: keep things in proportion, but strive to make things better. Don’t just take your situation as a given. It doesn’t matter whether others are in a better or worse position than you. Make an effort to change your own life.