Got 99 Problems But...

..it can all be so much worse. I often find myself complaining about things I have no business complaining about. I often find others complaining about things that they should not be complaining about. For me its "This house is a mess. I wish I didn't have to clean up." or "I don't feel like going to work." For others it could be "I HATE driving in this traffic." But guess what..

Cleaning up a messy house means I have a home to clean. Going to work means I get a paycheck. Driving in traffic means you don't have to wait at a cold bus stop or have to walk in the rain. A lot of the problems we think we have are all good problems to have for which someone, somewhere would be glad to take from us. Take a moment and Google 'first world problems'. It outlines the lack of gratitude and appreciation running wild in our society. This lack of appreciation makes it really easy for us to paint a negative view of our world; impacting our moods, interactions, and work. Eventually this negativity seeps into your mind/subconscious "I have the worst luck." "Nothing ever goes my way." You believe this so you don't try. Then you get the results of your efforts: nothing - further solidifying the negative beliefs of your life. Now you've created a vicious cycle of negative thought - no action - negative results; which is often hard to get out of.

For the religious of you, gratefulness is at the core of Christianity "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 For those of you into mindfulness/consciousness, again gratitude is one of the cornerstones of the Law of Attraction: "Say thank you. Say it 100 times a day. Appreciate everything you have. This is the only way to attract more into your life." or "If the only prayer said in your whole life was 'Thank you', that would suffice". For my more logical readers, think of yourself as the manager of two employees; Ike and Tina. Your company just opened up for business in a new region and the work load for you and your team essentially doubled over night. Its still a manageable work load, but it definitely adds a bit of stress. Now Ike, he's pissed that his 2 hour lunch breaks will have to be shortened and he makes sure everyone knows. Tina on the other hand, takes the new work load as an opportunity to improve her effectiveness under stress - and does it all without complaint. A few months go by, Ike is still complaining and Tina is still hustling - the CEO call you into his office and explains to you that the company will be expanding into yet another market and will have to hire two more employees. He goes on to explain that he wants you to select someone from your team to train and lead the new employees. Who would you rather give the promotion and pay raise to? Common sense says the cake goes to Anna Mae... err Tina. The benefits of gratefulness in this case are obvious.

I've made it a point to turn every one of my complaints into a praise/thanks/gratitude/appreciation. In fact, going forward I'm looking for more problems. I want to have to worry about becoming an accredited investor, not finding a publisher, having so much business I have to look for help, waiting two weeks for a check to clear because its too large, finding new charities to donate to, getting rid of toxic relationships, quoting so much business they give me more, etc. 

What blessings have you been complaining about? What kind of problems are you looking forward to this year? Let me know in the comments below! Also, read a damn book!

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.” - Oscar Wilde