Welcome back to No Whining Wednesday, the only day of the week where you have 24 hours in which not to whine, complain, or criticize. If youâre new to this blog or new to this segment, please go HERE for our first day of the segment which explains in greater detail.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
Todayâs quote comes from the inspiration to this segment. If you follow that link or if you remember, I started this because of watching a speech from Iyanla Vanzant. Todayâs quote is directly from her:
âNo whining, no complaining about anyone. Everybody in your life has come to teach you lessons.â
Today, to keep you from complaining, think about the lesson the situation has to teach you. Iâve already started implementing this into my life and I still complain, of course (lol), but I have noticed improvements and I can vouch that this is a practical step that does work.
If I just stop and think, what did I do wrong and what does this situation have to teach me? Then I am less likely to complain about it. You have to understand that complaining usually comes from two things: not understanding a situation and not being able to change something. Of course, it can become a lot more complex than this but this is the root of most worrying, not being able to change something out of our control or not understanding something. Today, just stop. Stop trying to change it. Just see the lesson.
Welcome back to No Whining Wednesday, your (and mine!) weekly reminder not to whine, complain, or criticize for this twenty-four hour period. If you’re new to this blog or this segment, please refer to the first post HERE which explains in detail. (You can also see the other weeks we’ve done so far. Just click on the pingbacks)
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
Today’s reminder is all about looking for the strength in others, instead of the weaknesses:
âIt is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.â â Daisaku Ikeda
We have a habit of seeing only the bad in people. Every day we place judgment on others in subtle ways. Maybe we saw a blog post we didn’t agree with so we murmured under our breaths. Maybe someone bypassed us on the street and we wondered why they wore those shoes. Maybe we rolled our eyes because someone did something we thought was the wrong thing to do. Maybe an author is not winning in our eyes. Maybe he or she is losing because they aren’t doing it the way we’ve been taught it should be done. Maybe, maybe, maybe. These “maybies” add up. Sometimes they come out of our mouths. Other times they stay in our heads. Either way, consciously or subconsciously, we tend to see the negative in people first and then, only if we’ve chosen to accept the person anyway, do we see the good.
What if we could see the good first? What if instead of counting my weaknesses, you can count my strengths? What if instead of seeing what I am doing wrong, you can see what I am doing right? Today, try not to criticize people’s imperfections. Instead, look for their strengths.
âDonât criticize what you donât understand, son. You never walked in that manâs shoes.â â Elvis Presley
I challenge you to list a strength you see in someone in your life in the comments section! Could be a fellow blogger, author, sister, brother, mom, friend. Anyone in your life. (You cannot talk about yourself).
Welcome back to No Whining Wednesday, the only day of the week where you do not get to whine, complain, or criticize. Click Hereif you’re new to this segment for more on what this is about.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
“If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches..”
– Rainer Maria Rilke
Are you rich? Here’s a list to help you to find out. You’re rich if you:
Woke up this morning
Have a roof over your head
You ate today
You have someone who loves you
You love someone back
You have clean water
You have food in the refrigerator
You have someone who could give you food
You have a good heart
You wish good for others
Someone prayed for you today
You prayed for someone today
Someone cares for you
You have clean clothes
You have a washing matching to wash your clothes
You know how to wash your clothes on hand
You have a dream
You know how to read and write
You’re breathing right now
Understand and then appreciate your riches. Do that and you will never be disappointed. For the grateful, there is no poverty.
Yup, it’s that time of the week again. First, if you’re new to this blog or this segment please check out the first post HEREfor more information on what this is all about. In brief, this is the only day of the week where you do not get to Whine, Complain, or Criticize.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
âWrite it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.â
– Â Ralph Waldo Emerson
Mat 6:25 âBecause of this I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you shall eat or drink, or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than the food and the body more than the clothing.”
If there is something that you need, write it on your heart and when the sun peaks through the sky to indicate a new day, do something small to help manifest that dream. Challenge yourself not to do too much. It is not necessary. One small, tiny action and one single leap of faith in the right direction every single day is all that you need. A year from now you will look up and see you are a different person and far more ahead than originally anticipated.
If every day is a new day, embrace it as if it is so. Yesterday’s problems do not exist here and tomorrows problems have not come as of yet. Today is fresh and exciting and ready to be appreciated and filled.
Happy Wednesday! Your favorite day of the week đ
If you’re new to this blog, learn more about No Whining Wednesday HERE.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
Todayâs message came as I was frying chicken strips last night. I was also listening to some throwback jams (preparing for what to choose for tomorrow!) As I was listening I thought about the night before, where I re-watched some of The Five Heartbeats. For those of you who didnât see my post last Friday, I quoted a line from a movie, well, it was a song and I asked you all if you knew what movie it was from. Since I got no responses I figure Iâd tell ya. It was The Five Heartbeats and from the scene, everyone loves â The âWe havenât finished yetâ scene. Long story short, I pulled it up on YouTube. As I listened again and again and again andâŚ.you get the point, I decided this would be a great inspiring video for No Whining Wednesday!
You’ve gotta listen to the lyrics as you’re listening. Today’s message is simple: You don’t have a reason to complain because you haven’t finished yet. You are still here and, as I always say, you’ve got something to do. Enjoy and remember, today is a day of peace, not war. When you find yourself getting upset focus on rooting yourself in this present moment and don’t forget to BREATHE.
FYI: The video quality is not great but it is the only version on YouTube that played the entire song. If it’s too low you will have to plug in your speakers or headphones but it should be good though.
Welcome back you Non-Whiners! Ya’ll know how we do this, if you’re new to this segment or this blog, please read the first post HERE. Our goal is not to whine, complain, or criticize on Wednesdays.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
So far, we’ve pretty much covered complaining and whining but No Whining Wednesday also means no criticizing.
Criticize – indicate the faults of (someone or something) in a disapproving way.
One thing about this is that it’s easy to see the faults in others. Even in writing it is difficult to see your own errors (i.e. the need of editors). Sometimes we need to apply this to life in general, that is, edit your life. “Your” being the key word here.
Criticism is sneaky and can roll off the tongue so easily. It can be done in many ways and even more so today than before since technology conceals much and through emojis and semicolons people roll their eyes and smack their lips. Speaking negatively under their breath while they throw up a smiley face.
If we really thought about it, we’d probably discover that we spend most of our day criticizing others. We criticize the woman taking too long in the grocery line in front of us. We criticize the woman whose pants are too tight or shirt that exposes her breasts. We turn our lips up at the homeless man or the drunkard stumbling down the street. In our own thoughts, we do more criticizing than we’d admit outwardly and let’s not talk about writing! There’s a load of judgment here. The truth is that we can often see the splinter in the eyes of others but not the plank in our own. While we are pointing fingers, we tend to be far worse than the people we’re judging.
âAny fool can criticize, complain, and condemnâand most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.â
– Dale Carnegie
When I was in High School, there was the perception that the person who was the loudest and the most critical was the toughest and they often became the most popular. This perception could not have been any further from the truth. The person who talks a lot knows nothing. Likewise, the person who is so quick to judge others is a fool. Be not mistaken, it takes a strong person to be kind, gentle and forgiving in a hateful world. Seeking vengeance and refusing to forgive is just as cocky and critical as condemning someone for what they wear.
Today, focus on editing your own life before you point out so much as a missing hair from someone else’s.
Welcome back to No Whinging Wednesday! The only day of the week where you do not get to whine, criticize, or complain. If you’re new to this, please check out post one HERE.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
Today’s quote and message of inspiration and encouragement is from Maya Angelou:
âWhat you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.â- Maya Angelou
Today, as we strive not to be complainers, try something new. Instead of lingering on the situation at hand, what if you changed the way you thought about it? What if you changed your perspective and perception of it? Perspective can be defined as:
a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view
I remember when my husband and I were newlyweds and when we first moved down to Louisiana. Having rented a house from our elderly cousin, the house itself was not something we would have chosen. It was old (very old, I think her and her father built it and she’s like 80) and we had to move her stuff out before we moved in. The house wouldn’t heat well so winters were brutal. We literally fought to make it a home and there was much to complain about. There was much we did complain about. It was a big move for us and we had to give away some of our belongings to fit in the tiny house (we were downsizing from a three bedroom, three bath, and full basement home in Chicago to a two bedroom, one bath house in the county. Yikes!)
However, we were on 40 acres of land, had a horse, chickens, dogs and a garden. We had peace there and ended up renting the place for five long years. Some of the most peaceful and exciting years of our lives. That house was so poor that many people still make fun of us for staying there and have called us names, but it was ours and we made it work. We learned a lot of life lessons with the physical and mental challenges living there produced, mainly how to struggle together as a couple. We had both struggled individually growing up but not as a team. We are now staying at a place under much better conditions. Because we accepted the little, we were blessed with more. Despite how it looked, we even shared our home with others, opening it to anyone who needed it and as we often look back, we are glad to have lived there.
When you find yourself down in the dumps, remember that sometimes it’s because of how you’re viewing it and that things could always be worse. Remember the story of the wealthy father and his son:
Image Credit: Pixababy
Story by Dan Asmussen:
âOne day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
After their return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. âIt was great, Dad,â the son replied. âDid you see how poor people can be?â the father asked. âOh Yeah,â said the son.
So what did you learn from the trip?â asked the father. The son answered, âI saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.â
ââWe have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.â”
ââWe buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.â The boyâs father was speechless. Then his son added, âIt showed me just how poor we really are.ââ
âToo many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we donât have. What is one personâs worthless object is anotherâs prize possession. It is all based on oneâs perspective. Â Sometimes it takes the perspective of a child to remind us whatâs important.â
The PBS Blog 