I’m no saint. In fact, my 2012 resolution was to be less well-behaved and Tom tells me I’m off to a pretty good start so far this year. But one way I don’t misbehave is by complaining about clients.
Not that I never have clients to complain about – I do (you know who you are). The main reason I don’t complain about clients is frankly, I don’t want to get into the complaining mindset. Why harp on the one unreasonably demanding student when I’m in love with the 99 others in the room? After all, the more you complain, the more likely you are to keep complaining. For some people, complaining is so insidious they don’t even know they’re doing it!
Not only is complaining absolutely nonproductive and unhealthy, it rains on everybody else’s parade. We’re not attacking the other person when we complain, we’re not hurting them and they’re probably not even thinking about us at that moment. We’re just attacking ourselves with negative thoughts and raining on our own parade. How stupid is that?
So the next time you find yourself complaining about anything – an attorney-client, a competitor, a vendor or your boss, ask yourself how is that complaining working for you. The short answer: IT’S NOT!!
I’m just saying,
P.S. Comment here if you would like to rant about people who complain their way through the day.
