Complaints are futile

Anyone can be their best when things are going well. But when things are going wrong, you will see who they really are. - How to Live, Derek Sivers

Let’s admit it, life is hard. Once we accept the truth, we transcend it. There’re all sorts of pains, struggles and frustrations we have to deal with in everyday life while we still have to work hard to pay the bills. Complaining alleviates some of the pain by detaching us from reality for a moment, but it does nothing more than that. Still, it is one of the loudest noise in life.

I am no exception to this. If I remember correctly, I never stopped complaining since I started to work. One of the most delightful moments during my first job was sitting together with a QA engineer and talking shit about our job. Why so delightful? Because it felt great. The freedom of saying anything you want without taking any responsibility of our words was so alluring that I couldn’t stop from doing it. But if you ask me about the best decision I've made during that time, it's simply taking the action to quit the job and it absolutely has nothing to do with the complaints I’ve made. Right the opposite, complaining makes it harder for me to quit because it makes me feel more comfortable about the environment.

Another job experience confirmed my view that complaining is fucking useless. During that job I was assigned with lots of operational chores with few opportunity for growth. The actual work load wasn’t really heavy but I was mentally exhausted. I cannot stop questioning myself about what the fuck I am doing with my life, especially when I was stuck at a sev2 event during the New Years Eve. I did nothing but complaining. It does make me feel a bit better, but again it changes nothing and the situation is only getting worse over time. Without surprise, I quit it again. However, this time I realized if I constantly choose to quit anything I do, I am taking the same path that any loser will always take.

We've all heard about ownership, many companies integrated it into corporate culture to motivate its employees. We are assigned with roles and duties, taking ownership means performing the duties we are assigned with well. It's about earning trust and being professional. Nobody else can or should own our life. Your manager? No. Friends? No. Parents? No. It’s we who are the only owner. It’s a mindset that needs practice. It is meant to be learned rather than something we’re born with, but it’s the key that leads to self discipline and independence. Let’s gain the control of life by being fully self accountable and getting rid of the bad habit of complaining completely.