How to Stop Complaining: The Seal Officer Method

Whining will not help you cope with difficulties, but discipline does.

You most likely have plans, objectives, and dreams that you are working hard to achieve. Do you get upset when you can't do it? If so, I want to share with you a short but important idea.

I got it from the book Discipline Is Freedom by retired SEAL officer Joko Willink. The idea is straightforward; It's useless to complain about circumstances when things don't go the way you want them. However, the author does not advise like “don't complain”: he understands that we need something more to really change our own behavior.

Also read: How to Deal With Anxiety.

I don't know if you've tried before to start avoiding complaints once and for all. Every time I attempted to do it myself, I didn't really succeed. And I realized that you couldn't get rid of this tendency in a day.

If you want to stop complaining, you must change your habits.

If everything is bad and you are frustrated and keep whining, try focusing on the positive things you can find in the situation. How to do it? Say good to yourself when something goes wrong.

• Mission canceled? Okay, let's focus on another one.
• Didn't get a promotion? Okay, there will be more time for self-improvement.
• Were you not given funds? Okay, that company owes you now.
• Didn't get the job? Good. Gain experience, make a resume.
• Did you get hurt? Good. And so it was time to take a break from training.
• Have you been beaten? Good. Better in training than in street fighting.
• Lost? Good. Learning from mistakes.
• Sudden problems? Good. We have a chance to come up with a way out.

Do you get the idea? Benefits can be reaped from every trouble. Just train yourself to think that way, and over time you will completely change your thinking.

Several years ago, I decided to stop complaining once and for all. As is usually advised, I started small. And at first, everything went well. Who cares if it's raining today? Or that you broke your favorite coffee mug? You buy yourself a new one! It's easy not to worry about trifles.

Read also: Why You Should Take Care of Yourself First and Not Others.

But when something more serious happens, you immediately forget about the promise to yourself “not to complain.” And this is already a problem. Therefore, your resilience is determined not by indifference to small problems but by your ability to cope with large ones. How do you hold up when a big setback befalls you? Are you still complaining? Or have you trained your mind enough to focus on the positive?

When X (a negative event) occurs, perform Y (a beneficial, constructive action).

This, of course, does not appeal to the Nobel theory. I am not pretending that this method is the finest innovation since the invention of the wheel. Just for me, this practice was incredibly beneficial. I've read dozens of books on positive thinking, but none of them worked - until Jocko's.

So don't give up and keep moving forward. When you do this, you won't even have time to complain.

Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff

Sources: Life hacker