Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when you find yourself complaining, either on
Speaker 1: your own or in a group, get in the habit
Speaker 1: of asking what do you think we can do about that?
Speaker 1: Focusing on solutions instead of grievances is a much more
Speaker 1: productive way to go through life. So, I know, complaining
Speaker 1: is one of the simplest human pleasures. We all do it.
Speaker 1: I certainly do it a lot. It could be a
Speaker 1: way for people to bond or blow off steam, particularly
Speaker 1: in situations where people feel relatively powerless. I get that,
Speaker 1: but I'm also guessing that if you're the sort of
Speaker 1: person listening to this podcast, there are not that many
Speaker 1: situations in life where you are truly powerless. You have
Speaker 1: a lot of resources at your disposal should you choose
Speaker 1: to call upon them. So, when you find something that
Speaker 1: isn't working and you start complaining about it to yourself
Speaker 1: or in a group, train yourself to ask what do
Speaker 1: you think we can do about that? On your own
Speaker 1: or with others, you might be able to find a
Speaker 1: solution or at least make some part of a bad
Speaker 1: situation a little better. So, rather than complain about that
Speaker 1: meeting that always runs late, could you brainstorm solutions? Asking
Speaker 1: what do I think I can do about that? Leads
Speaker 1: to one obvious idea, which is treating what your manager
Speaker 1: calls a sixty minute meeting as an ninety minute one
Speaker 1: for your calendar purposes, just don't schedule anything immediately afterwards.
Speaker 1: Or if you always spend ten minutes talking about who
Speaker 1: will be on vacation, when you might offer to create
Speaker 1: a spreadsheet of this ahead of time, just to take
Speaker 1: it off your boss's plate. You might not make the
Speaker 1: meeting shorter, but you might. Or rather than complain about
Speaker 1: how your kids don't do chores, maybe you can tell
Speaker 1: them in your spouse that you are feeling overwhelmed and
Speaker 1: ask what do you think we can do about that?
Speaker 1: I'm sure you have some ideas, but give their ideas
Speaker 1: to listen to. Who knows what they will come up with.
Speaker 1: If some of their ideas seem workable, they might be
Speaker 1: more invested in the solution. I know this is all
Speaker 1: easier said than done, and sometimes there aren't obvious solutions,
Speaker 1: but there's no harm in just learning to always ask
Speaker 1: this question. You can be part of the group. Griping
Speaker 1: and express your own frustration, but then asking what do
Speaker 1: you think we can do about that at least suggests
Speaker 1: that the conversation can move on to something else. Dwelling
Speaker 1: on problems without at least considering solutions tends not to
Speaker 1: be helpful. Maybe there isn't anything to be done, but
Speaker 1: maybe there is, and making something a little better can
Speaker 1: make a big difference in the meantime. This is Laura,
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.