Talk less. Do More

Energy Crisis in America

I’m not talking about the oil crisis. Have you noticed the outlay of energy expended everywhere all day by the act of criticizing, complaining and venting negative thoughts? The media is overwhelmed by it. News channels thrive on it. Comic satirists make their living doing it. Anyone with half a dozen or more friends on Facebook knows already that each of us has a preferred sense of what is worthy of posting. I can predict in advance which of my friends and relatives are likely to use their status lines to vent rather than express something positive or point to resources that are constructive. Even writing this I fall into the category of critic: the very thing I seek to deter.

What if instead of voicing criticism or complaining (“What about those ****’s who hog the highways?” “Don’t you just hate it when it rains on game day?” “I look like a bag of trash today.” “Those blasted politicians are off their rockers . . .” each of us used the same amount of time to DO SOMETHING constructive? If I picked up a single piece of trash for every time I complained about someone else, the world would be a better place.

I am arguing for two things: Talk less. (Especially useless complaints and negative reflections) and Do more. Do more good. Tiny constructive actions. (Clean something. Put something back in order. Contribute a single dollar to a cause you believe in. Help a friend. Send a thank you note. These are tiny actions, doable at any moment.

Our opinions and commentary on the world (“The Republicans/the Democrats/the Capitalists/the greedy oil companies/my inlaws . . . etc. fill in the blank here . . . . . . . ) are the problem. Blaa blaa blaa . . . ) does nothing to change our reality. However, everything you do (or don’t do in the case of ecology) matters.

So, when you notice yourself going off about the latest thing you don’t like, stop. Quit complaining. Take some small action to make anything better.  If we all heeded this advice just think about the amount of improvement we could make. This is an energy crisis we can fix on the spot. And, while it won’t bring down oil prices at the drop of a hat, it’s a better use of time, don’t you think?

Talk less. Do more



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone