“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.” — Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now
I spent about two years complaining about the same thing. Different conversations, same story. My job wasn’t going anywhere, I felt stuck, and I kept waiting for something external to shift first before I did anything about it.
Nobody told me to stop. I just got tired of hearing myself say it.
I didn’t make some big dramatic change. I signed up for one class, told one person what I actually wanted to do, applied for one thing I thought was out of reach. None of it felt like progress while it was happening. But somewhere in there I stopped being the person who was waiting and started being the person who was actually trying things.
Looking back, what stayed with me wasn’t the optimism. Complaining is comfortable because it keeps you in the same place. Changing how you think — or actually changing the thing — is uncomfortable. Somewhere along the way, I stopped waiting for things to change and noticed that I already had.