Not in MY house

I don’t think that will work.”

“Why would you even suggest something like that?”

“He doesn’t even have any idea of what he is talking about.”

“Why don’t they change the way our company does things?”

Complaining complaining complaining! We all have heard it (even have been a big part of it at one time or another like I have?!).

Complaining is something that does nothing to help at all. It actually makes things worse than it ever does to make things better. What do you do if you feel like complaining or catch yourself doing it?

Here are a couple of suggestions for the Real Christian Businessman to think about:

Lift up instead of tear down: One way to counter complaining is to look for the parts of a situation that actually are working. You know, looking at things that are going right instead of trying to find the things that are going wrong? Think about them; Talk about them; review them in your mind. Have you ever noticed what happens when one person takes the opposite viewpoint of complaining in a non-threatening, non-sarcastic way? At a minimum others will stop to actually think about what they just said. It’s like pouring positive energy onto something that is declining. It usually” turns the train.”

Be part of the solution instead of part of the problem: How about thinking about ways that you personally could change the situation you are complaining about? Usually we always want “someone else to step up and change things.” This is particularly true our boss. Our boss may need to do something about a particular situation, but if we ourselves take the initiative to make some changes to it for the better it steamrolls into others doing the same thing (many times including him).

What can you do this week to turn the tide on complaining?

“Do things without complaining or arguing.” Phil 2:14 (NIV84)