The Truth Will Set You Free – Part 5 of 20

I recently read a post on Johnny B. Truant’s blog that really hit home. So much so that I wanted to do two things: share it with my readers and 2) think on and write about each piece of his post. The post is “20 Truths About Life No One Wants To Believe” and the fifth one I am going to tackle is:

5. Bitching won’t make your problems go away.
This one is hilarious to see in action. Why does your father always complain about his crappy car? Why does your neighbor complain about the government and taxes? Bitching and complaining does nothing. Action does something, but bitching is not action. Bitching is bitching. Yet people do it fervently, as if they think that bitching enough will, by itself, solve the problem.

I share Johnny’s astonishment that people will whine, moan, complain and bitch about their lives.

The simple fact is that these people are abdicating responsibility for their lives.

They are giving their power away: to people, circumstances and trends – to things outside themselves.

And there’s no quicker way to create feelings of powerlessness, frustration, and at times, anger than to complain.

(And what happens, when people feel like that? What do they do? They whine, moan, complain and bitch – and they feel the same or worse… it’s a downward spiral.)

The precursor to taking action is taking responsibility.

When you take a sober, judgement-free, view of your life and acknowledge that you either had some role in creating things – or realize that you’re putting up with them out if laziness or a desire for the familiar – you can begin to change things.

That’s when you can begin to truly own your life – and, if you want, to stop bitching and get on with creating your life.

Similar Posts

  • Find Out What’s Happening

    Whenever something isn’t ideal it’s an opportunity to learn, and grow. When you’re willing to inquire, to dive deep, you will solve long-standing problems, heal old wounds and spark growth. But you have to be willing to pause and ask: “What’s really going on here?” For example, when someone is late, why are they late?…

  • Why Goals Matter

    People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. – Earl Nightingale Doing what I do and having read what I’ve read, I’ve noticed that there’s a great deal of debate on how to do goals properly. But what I’ve found is that the great “difference” isn’t between the different ways to set and achieve…

  • How Hard Is It?

    If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you. – Steve Jobs How much are you resisting what you do? How many “have-tos” do you have in your life? Ideally, life is a collection, and series of, “get-tos.” What do you get…

  • What If The Worst Meant Something Else?

    Storms make trees take deeper roots. – Dolly Parton This quote got me to thinking about something I read in Martin Seligman’s book Flourish about post-traumatic growth. Yes, that’s right growth, not “stress.” Turns out that a sub-set of soldiers returning from combat actually grow from the terrible experience of combat. Another interesting finding is that most of…

  • Freedom, Authenticity and You

    “Only free people can hold their purpose and their honor steady to a common end, and prefer the interests of mankind to any narrow interest of their own.” – Woodrow Wilson Wilson, of course, is speaking of the freedom that citizens (of a country) with liberty have. That, when encumbered by oppression and the like…