The tricky part of complaining is that subtextually we’re admitting defeat. We’re admitting that we can’t do anything about the situation we’re in. That the only thing left to do is complain.
On the other hand, we all vent. We all need to express our frustrations. And it does help to communicate our feelings and emotions especially when it pertains to anger, disappointment and frustration. We need to let it out.
Yet, one is more about catharsis, about releasing and letting go of our frustration. And the other is about reliving it, feeding it, keeping the frustration alive, and justifying why we can’t do anything about the situation.
The thing about acceptance is that it doesn’t equate to having to like something. We can accept a situation without liking it. But what complaining does, is to remove our acceptance of the situation and ultimately to disempower us. To say, things shouldn’t be like they are, they should be different. Only they’re not different. The situation is the situation. Some may interpret it as a bad situation, others may interpret it as a positive situation, either way, if you remove the emotional charge, things are the way they are.
If you don’t like what’s going on, can you change things? Absolutely. But you don’t get to that changed state by complaining. You get there by accepting. By seeing things as they are right now. And you get there by realizing the power you have at this very moment, and every moment, to choose.