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You are here: Home / 2 - Professional Skills / a Soft Skills / Emotional Intelligence / Be the Kind of Person Who Says "You Can't Make Things Tough Enough for Me to Complain"

Be the Kind of Person Who Says "You Can't Make Things Tough Enough for Me to Complain"

December 17, 2008 by Matt Perman

It is so tempting to complain. There were a whole mix of things today that made my wife and I just want to throw up our arms in frustration.

But our motto (borrowed from our former pastor in Iowa) is “you can’t make it tough enough for us to complain.” Actually, she is better at that than I am — much better. I am still learning and making progress.

Everybody encounters things like this all the time. The best solution is to have the attitude “I will not complain, no matter how frustrating things get.”

And then there is a second component, which is just as important: Be a person who always strives to be part of the solution to other people’s problems.

When someone comes to you for assistance, and you don’t know the answer, it’s tempting to just pass them off. Try not to do that. Life is tough enough.

Fight the frustration of life by working on behalf of others, even when it doesn’t come easy (or it may not be “your” job). Try to figure out something you can do, even if it’s not obvious at first.

And in the times when you truly can’t take the time, or truly are incapable of doing anything, at least express that “I really wish I knew of a way to find the answer here, and I really hope you can get this figured out.”

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Filed Under: Emotional Intelligence

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What’s Best Next exists to help you achieve greater impact with your time and energy — and in a gospel-centered way.

We help you do work that changes the world. We believe this is possible when you reflect the gospel in your work. So here you’ll find resources and training to help you lead, create, and get things done. To do work that matters, and do it better — for the glory of God and flourishing of society.

We call it gospel-driven productivity, and it’s the path to finding the deepest possible meaning in your work and the path to greatest effectiveness.

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About Matt Perman

Matt Perman started What’s Best Next in 2008 as a blog on God-centered productivity. It has now become an organization dedicated to helping you do work that matters.

Matt is the author of What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done and a frequent speaker on leadership and productivity from a gospel-driven perspective. He has led the website teams at Desiring God and Made to Flourish, and is now director of career development at The King’s College NYC. He lives in Manhattan.

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