The Most Valiant Way to Complain is Create

This is a quote I ran across while reading Maria Popova’ s weekly publication titled Marginalian. I appreciate, honor and embrace the idea of turning complaining into creativity. The unfortunate reality is that often complaining turns into more complaining and the creativity aspect is abandoned or stifled. The dangerous thing about complainers is the fact that they attract complainers and everyone ends up in a circle of angry misery, unable to extract themselves unless they really decide to change the negative dynamic. Changing that dynamic requires the self awareness that complaining is becoming a pervasive part of our conversation with others. In addition to understanding the scary reality that the act of complaining, if engaged on a regular basis begins to literally change our physiology.

I don’t know anyone who enjoys being around a chronic complainer. Complaining is not ALL bad. We can recatergorize the complaining by realizing it can be a form of venting. Venting can be healthy. Those pesky annoyances that are rooting around in your head like a truffle pig, when shared, can be a release of stress and anxiety. It can also lead to creative problem solving transforming a situation into something better and more effective.

Complaining tips over into the unhealthy realm when it is a chronic way of engaging in our day to day interactions. Habitual complaining can literally retire the neural pathways in the brain. This can create a physiologic dynamic in our brains to favor negative thought patterns. YIKES! BEWARE! It gets worse!

Frequent complaining triggers the release of cortisol, the stress hormone leading the body to engage in a fight-or-flight response which can damage the hippocampus. The health of the hippocampus is crucial for memory and problem-solving. This can reduce the important act of a creative flow and the process of positive problem solving.

As mentioned , chronic complaining can strengthen those neural pathways which leads to the brains default to a negative mindset. In other words, complaining becomes easier and more comfortable. NO THANK YOU!

Another NO THANK YOU is the fact that complaining creates chronic stress which leads to other negative health outcomes increasing the risk of heart disease, compromised immune system and diabetes. As if that isn’t incentive to stop the chronic complaining. It is also associated with increased blood pressure, blood sugar and impaired cognitive function.

So, the case for chronic complaining has been made. However, occasional complaining or venting can facilitate problem solving, elicit support from peers and open up new avenues of thought that lead to enhanced perspectives. This is where the paths diverge. This is when complaining becomes our ally and we begin to create rather than destroy.