As a kid, I saw my Dad work hard, I mean really hard. But, he also yelled, name called and complained a lot as well.

Recently, I found myself complaining…a lot. You see, my wife has her ways of doing things. We all do. However, there are some things like leaving lids open, keeping food out overnight, throwing out perfectly good clothes that we can either wear or donate to salvation army.

As you live with someone these things that annoy you can add up, and boy do they add up quickly.

And so, it got to a breaking point where I had enough and expressed my thoughts and proposed a solution to the issue. I even gave reasons why for example, leaving food out may increase bacteria overnight and would become unhealthy to consume, but she was having none of it, as she explained she grew up on a farm, never refrigerated food and never got sick from eating food left out overnight.

Of course, with her being a head strong woman she held her ground and we got into a shouting match.

I do not like to argue, as it is a waste of time, a true waste of life.

After doing some self reflection, I realized part of the reason for us arguing was me just complaining about it and not doing anything to fix the issue.

I’ve decided to just keep my mouth shut, put the food in the fridge in containers, close lids she leaves opened, separate clothes that we can use or donate to Salvation Army in separate bags, etc.

It’s not worth it nor is it healthy for our family, mental health and well being to continue to argue.

I understand it will be a challenge, but I have promised myself to keep a journal of how much I complain on any given day and chart my progress. Also, I love wristbands and every time I complain I will have to sling shot my wristband on my wrist and then move the band over to the other wrist to remind my brain and body that I just complained, again.

Complaining is a victim mentality and gets us nowhere.

Let’s become the hero in our lives and work to solve, fix or just let go to live with peace, happiness and compassion.