Miserable or strong. Our choice.

Do you remember when you were younger and you used to complain about doing your chores on Saturday mornings? You'd rather hang out with your friends first, and do chores later. You might have even tried bargaining with your parents... you'd offer to do more chores if only they'd let you go. just. this. once.
We all know what ends up happening. Usually, in the time we spent trying to bargain our way out of the chores, we could have completed them all and been out with our friends already and enjoying the sunshine of the day.

This quote reminds me of that situation. For the same amount of work, the same amount of effort and energy, we either make ourselves miserable or make ourselves strong. We like to think that we save ourselves time by complaining, as if complaining has a special time-lapse option in the atmosphere. The truth, however, is that it sucks so much time out of our days. (Have you ever stopped to think about how much time you spend complaining? It's an interesting experiment, for sure.)

We have the choice to complain to friends about why our spouse never does anything right... or to actually communicate with our spouse about our needs not being met. Same amount of work.

We have the choice to be miserable at our jobs, complaining to co-workers about supervisors who don't understand us... or to look for a job that would better suit us and our skills, or seek acceptance on what we can control from our daily workload. Same amount of work.

We have a choice to bicker with our children, getting frustrated to the point of yelling at them when they argue with their siblings... or to set limits and boundaries at home, and be consistent in parenting. Same amount of work.

You have a choice.
I have a choice.
A simple choice.
To be miserable.
Or to be strong.

Being strong isn't always easy. But being miserable is a terrible way to live.