Food For Thought: Complaining vs. Problem Solving

Hey Lovelies!


I hope you are doing well... after this catastrophic week of unimaginable events which I am not going to hopefully mention in this post. You know what I am talking about.... #trump #orangeisthenewblack

Anyway, I have a new food for thought post but I am not sure if it is really a food for thought or something else... Let's see.... I am going to discuss about "problems" and the thinking pathways of people in general.

When a person faces a problem, any kind of problem, there are two main instincts: complaining about it or trying to come up with a solution. I think I can rightfully say that the most common one is complaining. There will be a very few people out there that will automatically try to come up with a solution to the problem. But why? Why do people complain about it? Is that beneficial in any possible way? I'm sure the psychologists out there are thinking that there are benefits. My point is not psychologically, it is realistically. For example; students often find it hard to learn new content they are introduced in their institution (school, college, university, whatever). Of course their first instinct is to go and complain about this to their friends, family, partner😁, etc. But why? By telling your friend that you find that hormone physiology topic hard to learn, are you feeling better? I don't so... In fact, I think it just wasted your time and energy to say it and the listener's time (the nicest way possible to say it).

Let me give you a real example; I was speaking to two friends the other day and my friend Fatz was starting to get ill. When she said it, my first instinct was to advice her to "gargle with warm water and salt" and "drink ginger tea with cloves", which gave both Zee and Fatz a vibe that I am "Such a mother!" and something else but that's irrelevant. Now, why? Why is it that problem solving is stigmatised as a motherly thing to do? If at that instance I said "get well soon", would that help her? Either way I understand it is a polite thing to do and I did say it but it physically did not solve the problem, did it? Can we not collectively try to change this current thinking process we have of complaining? Can we not actively start to solve the problems rather than moan about it? Think about it...  “Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” – Teddy Roosevelt

Then there are those problems that do not physically have a solution like the loss of something or someone. E.g. the presidential election results in USA 😒. In cases like these, we have to slowly overcome them. It can be a bit tough but it ends well.

Let me give you a challenge: Next time you are faced with a problem, do not complain but think of solutions for a month. At the end of the month, see if your life has slightly changed or not. I am sure it must change you at least a little bit.

This is what I think personally. Feel free to agree or disagree. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have thoughts on this or speak to me separately if you would like to talk about this topic, up to you!

I hope you enjoyed this post and I have been able to deliver the message to you. Are you a complainer or problem solver? Make sure to check back every Saturday for a new post!

Take Care

Yours, Nafiza