Never happy.

As an 18 year old  whipper snapper from Idaho Falls, Idaho, I went to bootcamp for the US Army in Ft. Knox, Kentucky.  And do you know what? Of all of the life tidbits that I learned in that nine week training, I learned that Privates like to complain.  The Drill Sergeant would say in that "I am the all mighty adult figure that will teach you life lessons and boil them down into easily remembered rhythmic sayings" voice,

"Ey, Senior Drill, you ever heard a group a Privates that complains this much?" And Senior Drill would reply,

"Naw, Drill...They don't know how good they have it."

I just assumed that the Drills were right, Privates were in fact, not happy unless they were complaining.  Everyone was always complaining....

And everyone is still always complaining.  I know what you are thinking,

Fantastic, a blog complaining about people complaining, but, stick with me here...

Let's take a couple of real life examples...(the names of the complainers will be replaced with animal names to protect these annoying bastards)....

Lemur: Uugggghhhh, my son is playing baseball this year, and I just found out that they have practices Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 5:30 to 6:30.  Could that time be anymore inconvenient? I have tennis on Wednesdays!  Uuggggghhhhh.

Here's the deal, Lemur.  Your son playing baseball is a positive development, and you should be happy about it.  Baseball will teach him teamwork and will otherwise keep him out of trouble.  You, as a parent, should be more than willing (and happy) to load up the Nissan Altima that smells like sex in a bowling alley, and take the little fella to baseball practice.  And if you aren't...you probably should have thought of that before you had a freaking kid.

Tarantula: I hate this job.  I hate my house.  I hate everyone that works here.  I hate the sound of so and so talking on the phone, blah, blah, blah...

My internal response: Get a different job if you hate this one so much.  If you don't hate it enough to get a different job, then you either don't hate it or you are lazy.  Do you know how many people would love to have your job?  You sit inside at a desk all day, and balance a big ass check book.  Then answer questions about stuff in the check book.  You may not be a rockstar, but then again, something tells me you would hate that, too. Make your house the way you want it, or move.  If you don't, you either don't hate it or you are lazy.  Do you know how many people would love to live in your house?  Moving on...You hate everyone that works here?  Now, this is getting ridiculous...what don't you hate? Answer: Cookies and cake. And...now, I'm zoned out...nice talking to you.  (Headphones on.)

My external response: That sucks, man.  (Headphones on.)

The majority of us, especially the ones of us fortunate enough to have access to a computer and with worries small enough to either write about or read about something as petty as the subject of this blog, have nothing to complain about. Because, the majority of the problems we complain about are not only small in the big scheme of things, but also solvable. 

The point of the story is this: Don't worry about what you don't have, just appreciate what you do have.  And if you are unhappy with something in your life, change it.  You control your decisions and your life, so if you don't like it, change it.  Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

So, that being said, I will follow my own advice, be accountable for my mood and actions, and change my trajectory.  I see you lookin' at me Madmen Season 4...I see you workin'.

Tom out.