Don’t allow yourself to be heard any longer griping about public life, not even with your own ears!
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.9
The burdens of responsibility are immense, and it is human nature to want to air your grievances about any given thing. The conventional wisdom even reinforces this: don’t bottle things up, get it off your chest, blow off steam.
How interesting it is then that we know, and have known clearly since Marcus’ time, that venting does no good. A recent study confirms that venting actually can be benign at best and counterproductive at its worst because it essentially elevates the problems in your mind and allows you to ruminate on them more deeply. Rumination is also deeply tied to mental health and depression.
This comes as a timely reminder for me, and it was one of the most important takeaways from Holiday’s The Obstacle Is The Way — it is easy to complain, make excuses and justifications, but it doesn’t do anything, it never lightens the load, and it does not remove the obstacles you face.
Negativity is like a cancer: it multiplies until it destroys the very being that gives it life if it is not stopped in its tracks.
Cash Flow 