My Sixties Project

I often write about having a positive attitude and that is a good thing, but it is still OK to complain if there is a purpose and if it moves you toward a solution.  In addition to reading A Year To Clear, I am reading the Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life, by Anu Partanen.  She writes that being constantly positive can sometimes distract people from pursuing necessary changes.  Her words:

Complaining can seem obnoxious and pointless, but it can also sometimes be perfectly justified and the necessary first step toward real change – not just change within oneself, but change in the world. 

Combine the idea that is OK to complain with the idea of being nonjudgemental.  It seems to me complaining is acceptable, if you are stating facts and not passing judgement, particularly judgement that is aimed at individuals.  It is recognizing our tendencies to judge that works us toward softening those judgements and allows us to think through the steps of change.

Hopefully we are all changing and recognizing that the world around us changes too. If complaining helps identify the changes we need to make in ourselves and the things that impact us, it might not be a bad thing.  However tempering our complaints with moderation, balance, and facts are crucial to making any change positive.