“Keep walking, Fievel.” ~ from An American Tale
Enough with the Whining…
It was the incessant discussion of per gallon fuel prices that pushed me over the edge.
“I paid $2.89 this morning.”
“You think that’s bad. I tried to fill up at $3.05 and the pump shut off at $100. Couldn’t even fill the tank.”
The way things are going, the economy is going to crash and the sky will fall.”
Enough already. Fuel should cost a lot of money. Here’s to high fuel prices…and here’s to your success no matter what.
I’m a pretty smart chick but I can’t figure out how fuel is priced. The conspiracy theorist in me believes that there is a phone call once a month, attended by scary, powerful people who decide what fuel prices should be. These are the same folks who keep JFK and Elvis under lock and key and determine what’s fashionable this season in hemline length.
The realist in me suspects fuel prices are the result of current market forces coupled with corrupt economic and political shenanigans. However, if fuel was traded in a totally free market it would be very expensive. Clean water would be expensive. These commodities require massive amounts of resources to produce and deliver…ready to go, on tap. We should consume them sparingly. The best way I know to conserve resources: Make using those resources hurt.
We’ll figure it out. We always do.
The No-Whining Rule…
I was teaching a seminar recently and the coffee break talk was all about rising fuel prices. I snapped. I’ve had it. Unless you are going to run for office or become a lobbyist, what are you going to do about it? Complain? Gripe? Whine? Not to me.
I’m a fairly happy-go-lucky girl. Prior to now, I have thought it was funny to go for the complaining “Ain’t life a drag” cheap chuckle. I would comment about my crazy travel schedule or bad customer service experiences. I’m catching myself when I start to kvetch. I am BORED with whining and don’t want to do it anymore. And, I don’t want to hear your whining either. We are blessed to live like we do. We have achieved a level of prosperity and freedom that 90% of the world doesn’t enjoy. We are swimming in opportunity. I’m for NOT complaining.
I’m jumping on the Reverend Will Bowen’s bandwagon. Reverend Will is a preacher from Kansas City who started the purple wristband reminder program to help people QUIT complaining. Check out A Complaint Free World. He had an epiphany one day in the shower. He was worn down by his churchgoers’ trivial complaints…about the weather, the choice of hymns during service, blah blah blah. So he asked his flock to take a pledge: To swear off whining complaining, criticizing, gossiping or using sarcasm for 21 days. As a reminder, those who take the pledge agree to wear a purple, plastic wristband. Should they fall off the wagon, they switch the wristband to the other wrist and start the 21 days over. So far, almost 6 million people have taken the pledge.
Do we know that the economy will crash (the sky will fall, the earth will melt, the hair will frizz) if fuel prices go to $10 per gallon? People will continue to trade with each other as long as there is any possible way to do that. And, you are the one to expand the opportunities in fuel efficiency. Paging through trade magazines, you see the groovy, fuel-efficient heating equipment coming to the US from the European markets. Fuel is more than $5 per gallon there. The emissions regulations are tough. Water usage is tightly regulated, too. Europeans have had to conserve and they have responded with some amazing solutions. You are in the best position to capitalize on the demand for low impact plumbing and heating solutions. What’s there to whine about?
Ready to take the “No Whining” pledge? Order the purple wristband. See only the opportunities and let the griping go. Focus on what you want and watch as more of that enters your life.
“I only talk about what I want in my life, not about what I don’t want.”
~Wayne Dyer
