Sunday Inspiration: Complaining
A friend sent me these words from Teddy Roosevelt.
“Complaining about a problem without proposing a solution is called whining.”
I started to wonder how often we have enough information to propose a solution. Or how often we have the energy to contemplate our choices so we can make a proposal. Or hardest yet, coming up with a solution and then following through on it.
I complain about a lot of things without moving to the next step, too tired or worried to try. How about you?
Teddy had more food for thought for us all. Let me know what you think.
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Definitely takes doers who can handle criticism of watchers to get things done!
Those are great quotes. Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders are characters in a book that I’m reading this weekend, Two Wars and a Wedding, by Lauren Willig. One of the wars is the Spanish-American one. Teddy also deserves a lot of credit for our National Park system.
Criticism is definitely easier than proposing solutions. Even if we do propose a solution, it may provoke further controversy, particularly if it involves anything political. For example, many of us believe that the solution to the increased number of mass shootings, over 200 already this year, is to outlaw automatic weapons and the gadgets that will turn regular rifles into automatic ones. However, the NRA and gun manufacturers will not allow that to happen here in the U.S.
This quote by Teddy Roosevelt has long been one of my favorites. I first gave it to my son over 30 years ago when he was playing in a youth sports league and took a loss particularly hard. Thank you for reminding me of it!