Whingers.
This is a group of individuals that I find most tedious, boring, nauseating, and downright annoying.
And with the growth of social media they now have bigger loudspeakers and a tremendous range of opportunities to share their destructive, nihilistic worldview on the rest of us.
No matter what the issue, no matter how things are going, there is a certain sort of individual who will find a way to whine and whinge and blame someone else for their standing and condition.
There is always a ‘they’ to blame for their troubles. ‘They’ can be the politicians, the banks, the church, builders, developers, capitalists, socialists, the right, the left, the media, RTE, the Irish Times, men, women, the LGBT community. Take your pick.
You name it. For the whingers it does not matter who ‘they’ is. It is important, however, that there is a ‘they’. And there always is. ‘They’ provide a useful function.
‘They’ provide the reason as to why the whinger is getting a raw deal, why he/she is being held back and held down, why others are doing better and are more privileged.
There must be a rational explanation, right?
And it cannot have anything to do with their attitude, their work ethic, the gargantuan chip on their shoulder, the plethora of grievances and complaints being dragged through their life like clanking chains.
Of course not.
A positive attitude, a bit of get up and go, a smattering of taking responsibility, a morsel of responding positively to the circumstances they find themselves in, a soupcon of self-examination and owning the attitude and problem-these things might help. They might be worth a try.
It is never too late. I have met whingers who are young and whingers who are old. And I cannot make up my mind as to which is the most pathetic group.
For the older whinger it is probably too late. A lifetime of whinging can render it impossible for an old dog to learn new tricks. Especially when what is required is an attitudinal change.
The young whinger still has time. It is not too late.
My advice, for what it is worth, is to have a positive attitude as a staring point.
Accept as truths that
- life is not fair,
- the rules change and
- there are no guarantees
This is a good starting point. Once you swallow these truths you can make progress and not waste a lifetime complaining about the ‘they’ and ‘them’ that is such an unhealthy, counterproductive, senseless, preoccupation.