One night, legendary tracker Tom Brown was sitting by a small campfire in the Pine Barrens, bemoaning the cold. His mentor Stalking Wolf was sitting back against a tree, totally relaxed as could be. He asked, “What’s your problem son?â€
Tom replied, “It’s cold. My hands are freezing!â€
Stalking Wolf then agreed that cold hands could indeed be a problem. But then, he asked if he’d ever seen a fox complain
about the cold, and what might happen if they did. For Tom, even though he wasn’t too happy about it, the point hit home. So, he got up and stomped around to warm his body. That alone took his mind off of his miseries.
Then he began to build a primitive shelter. Stacking sticks, mounding up brush and debris to form walls. By the time he was done he was already warm. And he was now able to crawl into his little makeshift home and enjoy the snowy and starry skied night.
The lesson for us here?
Complain, and you’ll just be miserable and unhappy. Nothing good can come of it. But as soon as you start to do something, anything, the whole world will start to look a lot better. Seriously, when you’re productive, there’s no time to be miserable!
Whatever position you’re in right now, there’s always something that you’ll be able to do. In fact, you shouldn’t be focusing on too much in the first place. That’s a surefire recipe for frustration and anxiety. I’m sure you’ve got enough on your plate as it is. You can keep complaining, and stay miserable and unhappy, or you can be happy and productive by doing something to advance your goal. The choice for me is pretty clear.