The Complaining Virus

Viruses are no fun. They cut us off from our family and friends. They make your entire body feel horrible. Plus, no matter how hard we try not to, viruses always affect someone else we care about negatively. None of us would willingly expose ourselves to such a virus. The problem is that most viruses can't be seen, so we are exposed and become infected and the cycle just goes on and on.

However, there is one virus that is visible and one that can be avoided and that is the complaining virus. We all have seen this aggressive virus in action, heaven forbid, we might have had or have the virus ourselves!! Either way, people infected with this virus often find that their friends stop calling them because they are no fun to be around. The friends that do call find themselves complaining to others as well. It's a highly contagious virus. Symptoms include unhappiness, low self esteem, few friends, and an overall feeling of irritability. Indirect symptoms can also include overlooked smiles, underappreciation for beautiful sunshine and generally taking for granted the ability to walk, talk, hear and love.

So, how do we avoid it and if we have it, what is the prescription for getting rid of it? To avoid it, stay away from those infected as much as possible as it can creep into your daily conversations easily without warning. To rid yourself of this virus if you're currently infected, grab a pen and paper and start a gratitude journal. At the end of each day, write down three things that were good that day. It can be as small as all the traffic lights were green on my drive to work. Be diligent about it though and write every night in your journal. You will find that your brain begins looking for positive things during the day and not focusing on negative things. A 2nd prescription is to pray for God to give you a pause before you complain so you can select your words and change them before they are spoken. Soon, you will be feeling better than ever.

When things are not going our way, whether it be sickness or some other unfortunate situation, we all have a tendency to complain. But, complaining is a waste of time and words and it hurts more than we know. The Bible addresses it in this way... "No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear " -Ephesians 4:29 . Let's make every effort we can to stop the spreading of the complaining virus. We'll all be better without it!! God Bless!!!