On negativity
A lot of the messages popping up in my life seem to be saying the same thing these days. Our daily inspirational series from corporate has been on "Taking 100% Responsibility for Your Life", and one of the days this last week was on complaining (paraphrased): "Negativity breeds negativity. Nothing is accomplished if you always have something to complain about. If you find your companions complaining, find new companions." A comment from a message board struck me: "Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets replaced." And one of my favorite bloggers wrote a post about not wasting your time on negativity.
Here's the thing: as much as I adore Kit and understand what she was trying to say (because she is the queen of disagreeing civilly with people on the internet, a feat in and of itself), I think all of the above is TOTAL BULLSHIT.
If you've known me for any length of time, you know that I don't hesitate to raise a little hell when necessary. And I will freely admit, if you check out my activism and awareness tag or my twitter, you'll see that I raise minor hell through spreading information and signing petitions or writing to my elected representatives almost every day. Because I firmly believe that if you don't complain, things will never get better.
I understand not being negative for negativity's sake, but sometimes it is absolutely vital to speak up and say, "This is unacceptable; we need to fix it." A good example is my recent work situation--when they cut the hours of the other person on my shift, I was simply not able to complete all of the care on my own. For elderly residents who need assistance eating, going to the restroom, or whatever, it's not fair to make one person (or two or three) wait just because I'm already helping someone else. When they announced the schedule change because of budget cuts, I wrote a strongly-worded e-mail to my supervisor and immediately, loudly, passionately, and continuously complained for two weeks until the situation was fixed. Because my residents weren't getting the care they deserved, and that was worth complaining about.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
Here's the thing: as much as I adore Kit and understand what she was trying to say (because she is the queen of disagreeing civilly with people on the internet, a feat in and of itself), I think all of the above is TOTAL BULLSHIT.
If you've known me for any length of time, you know that I don't hesitate to raise a little hell when necessary. And I will freely admit, if you check out my activism and awareness tag or my twitter, you'll see that I raise minor hell through spreading information and signing petitions or writing to my elected representatives almost every day. Because I firmly believe that if you don't complain, things will never get better.
I understand not being negative for negativity's sake, but sometimes it is absolutely vital to speak up and say, "This is unacceptable; we need to fix it." A good example is my recent work situation--when they cut the hours of the other person on my shift, I was simply not able to complete all of the care on my own. For elderly residents who need assistance eating, going to the restroom, or whatever, it's not fair to make one person (or two or three) wait just because I'm already helping someone else. When they announced the schedule change because of budget cuts, I wrote a strongly-worded e-mail to my supervisor and immediately, loudly, passionately, and continuously complained for two weeks until the situation was fixed. Because my residents weren't getting the care they deserved, and that was worth complaining about.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson