Justifiable Complaining

According to Merrium-Webster, there are two definitions of the word complain: 

1. : to express grief, pain, or discontent 

2. :  to make a formal accusation or charge

So Wednesday, after deciding to accept the 'no complaining challenge' I was feeling good about myself. Okay, maybe even a little smug.  My euphoria lasted about an hour.

It disappeared when I crossed paths with a dip-sh*t in a pickup who mistook the Walmart parking lot for the Daytona Speedway.  As I made a right turn into the lot 'Ricky Bobby' blew through the stop sign at about 40 MPH, hung a left on 2 wheels and came so close to me he nearly took my front bumper with him. 

Of course, I reacted with all of the serenity befitting a gal on a journey for peace of mind and self-improvement. I'm pretty sure I was still standing on my brakes, when I leaned on my horn and shouted "A**hole!" 

And I wondered, "Was that a complaint?" Because I'd like to think it was more of an observation.  

You can't really call it a complaint unless I had whined about it to someone. Right?  Still, I was 'expressing discontent'. But my heart was pounding in my ears, so wasn't my reaction was justified? 

Ugh. I may have to avoid driving for these 7 days, even if it might be unfair to the other drivers who need my horn-blowing and constructive critiques.

I have noticed that my complaining style is not so much premeditated tirades, as it is  knee-jerk reactions,  and avoiding them takes more of a conscious effort. 

But what about justifiable complaining? Does that count? Because sometimes I have a lot to complain about. Like war, famine, politicians and not being able to find the end of a roll of tape and reality TV stars and when I can't open a jar of mustard and when I have a conversation with my mother and I have to say everything twice. 

Okay. Maybe I'm missing the point.  We all have some reason to complain, but I guess it's a slippery slope. One minute you're complaining about your boss, whom admittedly  probably is an overpaid buffoon and moments later you've worked yourself up to a full blown rage over a broken shoelace or a bad call by a referee. 

But to be honest, I'm not even sure if I get the point. Isn't venting good for you? No doubt, its better for the vent-er than the vent-ee. It's never fun to be on the receiving end of someone's emotional dump. Especially if it's angry and often. 

So is the idea for me to become a nicer person? Someone who's easier to be around? 

I guess the only thing to do is soldier on. Chin up and mouth shut.  And when I'm behind the wheel, I'll try to keep the horn-blowing and the 'observations' to a minimum. 

I wonder. Do hand-gestures count? 

Embracing Hokey

Have you ever been to a business meeting or a seminar and listened to a hokey motivational speaker who was so full of sunshine and positive energy, that you just wanted to hurl? 

Tuesday evening I observed one of hokiest, happiest,  energetic speakers I have ever heard. He even made us jump out of our chairs every five minutes and declare how awesome we were. Then we had to high-five the stranger next to us and tell them how awesome they were.   

But what may surprise you, is that during this entire event, not one person looked like they wanted to hurl. There was not even so much as an eye-roll.  In fact, I heard more 'Amens'  from that audience than at a Baptist revival. They were completely and utterly enthralled.  

And so was I.

Because here's the thing: I'm a fan of happy and energetic people.  I kind of like hokey.  I might even embrace hokey and I don't really mind sitting in front of a gifted speaker who can wake me up and shake me out of my comfort zone.  

And that's exactly what he did. But, what impacted me most was a challenge he gave us.  "Want to change your life for the better?" Mr. Energy asked. "Go 7 days without complaining."

I was still feeling the effects of the previous night's influx of motivation when I awoke Wednesday morning. And though I consider myself a very positive person, I could not stop thinking about his challenge.  

So, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure that Mr. Energy  laid down the gauntlet for the whiners in the group and not an optimist like me, I decided to accept the challenge: 

No complaining for 7 days. 

This was going to be a breeze! I could improve my life a little and at the same time, set an  example for others not blessed with my sunny disposition. 

Other than a minor road rage incident (more about that next time) yesterday morning, I was doing great. Until I began to write this post.

I had some problems with the new 'Blogger' interface that the geeks at Google decided to change from a perfectly good, user-friendly one into a hot-complicated-mess! (Do rants count?)

I eventually figured it out, but not without some whining and okay, there may have even been some colorful language involved. 

Crap. I may be off to a bad start. Have you ever noticed that humble pie tastes nothing like pumpkin?