Some cancers, like skin cancer, are more obvious and you can remove them. Then there’s the kind that grows undetected and can destroy your body. Complaining is like that; it impacts your health and sabotages your success without you realising how much of an effect it’s having. Paul said, ‘Do everything without grumbling or arguing.’ Dr Ann Shorb writes: ‘If you find yourself…feeling negative and down…listen to what’s being said around you. Is there a lot of grumbling and complaining? Are the people you spend time with constantly expressing discouraging thoughts and feelings?…Maybe you are the one…griping and complaining…Many times we become our own worst enemy by developing angry or bitter attitudes…Your thoughts and attitudes are your choice. Where you put your mind is up to you!…Follow what the apostle Paul wrote about putting off the negative and putting on the positive (see Colossians 3: 1-15 and Ephesians 4:20-32)…Acknowledge that there are problems…but don’t dwell on them…Do what you can to remedy the situation. Remember…you can never change another person, only yourself and your attitudes…Find the positives…Focus on these and be thankful that God promises to be with you…through the hard times…Use Bible verses and inspirational sayings to re-focus when your thinking starts to go [downhill]…By changing your thinking you change your outlook, and by changing your outlook you change your life.’ To one person the world looks desolate; to another, that same world looks rich and interesting. What you see often depends on what you look for. Make up your mind not to complain for a day. Then challenge yourself not to complain for a week. You will be amazed at how different you feel.
