It's really easy to list all the reasons that you don't like something, especially when you're joining in the mob. It takes far more courage to stand up and show loyalty and not be afraid to rep the brands, places and communities that you love.
To that end, I'm offering three reasons why you should stop tearing things down and start standing up.
1. It's true what someone told you as a kid – "If you don't have anything nice to stay, don't say anything at all." Complaining builds a muscle that breeds negative energy. That's not just for those around you, but for you too. Complaining puts you into a mindset of tearing things down rather than trying to build them back up and we've got enough people putting time into the former. Feedback is critical. You can be kind and give feedback. Try to frame what would be a complaint into a generous question instead of a statement that detracts.
2. You're talking to a human. Almost everything in our world is created by another human. Humans are imperfect. It's our greatest gift and our achilles heel. When we forget that we are all individuals on a journey to learn and discover, we can sometimes turn kind of mean. Online tools make it easy to write an email in a rage, leave an anonymous cruel comment or treat someone like a number. They put barriers between our humanity. We forget that as organizations we are creating things for other humans and that there are humans behind that business, idea or post. Try to think about how to put the humanity back into the interaction.
3. You have a voice that needs to be heard. Again, it's much easier to be a part of the mob adding fuel to the complaint fire than sharing your thoughts, feelings and rationale on the things you love. Formulating an opinion and sharing it with the world is scary. It leaves us open to someone telling us that we are wrong. It's the same reason that you get silence after a question is asked of many groups. We always end up thinking "I wish I had of said …". Let's stop with those regrets.
All of the above is why I'm generally a fangirl for the charities, clothing companies, communities, coffee shops, (insert entity here), that I love. I write reviews for them that are specific about why I love them and why I think you should too. I share photos on social media when I interact with them. I'm quick to jump into a conversation (in-person or digital) when someone is tearing them down.
So be like this kitty and stand up for what you love a little more often and challenge others when they complain to be generous, remember everyone is an imperfect human and to have their voice be heard.
Being a Force for Good 