Brian Tracy narrates the story of Joe, one of his colleagues early in his professional career. Every afternoon, when they all sat down for lunch, Joe would begin by complaining loudly about the food his wife packed for him.
‘Corn beef. I hate corn beef’ – he would say one day and it would be ‘I HATE beef casserole’ on another. He would blame his wife for not catering to his taste EVERY single day.
One day, however, as he began lunch with the usual complaining, Brian stopped him. ‘Joe, didn’t you say your wife is away at her parent’s house for a holiday?’
‘Yep’
‘I hear you complaining about your sandwiches. Who made them today?’
‘I did..’
Brian realized that Joe was so entrenched in his habit of complaining that he had lost all perspective. Ever since, Brian has been a huge advocate of consciously developing positive habits.
Often, we don’t realize how we make a habit of complaining about some things repeatedly eg: the bad weather, bad boss, bad business environment, bad food etc etc. The best quote I’ve heard that best describes it’s effects is ‘Complaining is like vomiting. It makes you feel better and the others around you feel worse.’
A Learning a Day 