Marcus Aurelius allowed himself two responses to any problem. If it can be changed, change it. If it can’t, accept it.
What he doesn’t do, is complaining.
Complaining feels like action. It has energy, an audience, sometimes applause. But it doesn’t produce anything. The problem stays the same. You’ve just lived it twice - once when it happened and once in the retelling. And you’ve handed your listeners a share of it too.
The Stoics weren’t against noticing problems. They were against narrating them instead of answering them.
Next time you hear yourself starting a complaint, pause and ask the only question that matters. Can I do something about this?
Yes means do it. No means let it go.
Say the complaint out loud only if you’re ready to also say what you’ll do about it.
ABSOLUTELY !!! all this complaining and woes and ridiculous criticism is so tiring ... I so agree !
action, please ... all this energy complaining could be more easily spent on resolving the problem or as you say, just simply accepting it ...
The Stoic is completely right: complaining is a dead theater that forces you to live through your misery twice. It is a total leakage of your life energy. But don’t turn acceptance into a difficult mental duty. When you stop complaining, don’t do it because of a strict rule, but because you have fallen in love with the absolute silence of the present moment. If you can fix it, fix it with joy. If you cannot, drop it like a dry leaf falling from a tree. True acceptance is not willpower; it is the natural ease of a quiet mind.