I love to complain—it’s one of my favorite things to do. But the people around me hear me complain and think, “Damn, he’s really pessimistic,” or “Wow, nothing makes him happy.” That’s not necessarily the case. It’s more like: if I’m just okay with everything going on around me, then there’s nothing to do—but then again, would I even want that?
I’ve noticed that I complain about things the same way my dad does, but it doesn’t mean I’m angry or annoyed. I don’t even know if “complain” is the right word—maybe “criticize.” But not in a personal way. It’s more about situations or things.
I grew up with parents who believe in different things, from two very different cultures. I understand that beliefs, habits, and mannerisms change from place to place, and I respect that. What I don’t understand is why people get so offended or angry over certain situations.
I experienced the Mace Energy Method a while back—I even mentioned it in another post, but I haven’t talked about it much here. I do feel like it’s helped me in a lot of ways. But I also don’t want to fully understand how it works, because I feel like that might make it stop working. I don’t think the benefits would suddenly disappear, but I do think it might stop being effective—or at least not work as well.
It’s something psychological. But if you believe it’s something more magical, it can actually do more for you. Kind of like with religion. That’s just what I think, at least.
Just don’t be offended...
That word—“just”—has found its way into everyday communication for a lot of people. I won’t generalize and say everyone, but it’s definitely something we’ve all used at some point. It simplifies things and makes them feel smaller or less important than they really are.
When giving bad news, we often use just to soften the blow:
“They robbed our store, but they just took the money—everyone’s fine.”
I’ve noticed myself using it all the time when I talk to people. It’s like a filler word that makes it easier to get a message across without having to explain everything. It’s a word that can be thrown into almost any sentence—and it just works.
I’m trying my best to use it less, but it’s hard. I catch myself replacing it with other similar words, like: “like,” “only,” “kind of,” “maybe,” “a bit”—and of course, “just.”
I’m still trying to filter through things and figure out what I really want. I do feel like I’m getting closer, but it’s a very hard question to answer. Posting these kinds of thoughts helps me a lot. It gives me clarity, and I’ve also started having more real conversations with my family about this kind of stuff.
I’ve always been pretty reserved when it comes to talking about deeper things, but now I really want to know what I actually want out of life. Anyone can say money or power or success, but once you have all those things, do you really think that’s going to be enough?
I know a lot of people who can’t stop—not really. They say they want to slow down, but they don’t actually do it. They always need to be doing something or solving a problem. Sometimes I’m like that too. But I’ve found myself stopping to think deeply about life for the past few years.
And I think the reason is this:
I want to be able to really figure out what I want in life—not decide something early on just because I felt pressured to. I didn’t want to pick a direction too young and then stick to it just because it was something I committed to before I had enough experience to know better.
I don’t understand why some people can’t stop. I try to get people to take a breath, clear their mind, and have a real one-on-one conversation. But it’s hard. I won’t say impossible, because I’ve had success a couple of times. I just think everybody should take a step back, even for a moment, and analyze their life from the outside and really look at it.
