Please shut up …and stop the whining

I’m sitting in front of my TV right now, watching a parent lament about her guilt for working so hard. The kids are complaining, the spouse is complaining and this woman is racked with guilt over having to work at the same time when her daughter wants both parents present at some school function. And I am thoroughly pissed at her conflict. Yes I am.

Honestly, I have always considered myself a practical person and I believe I have a valid point here. In life, everything, be it our life styles, careers, vacations, etc., has an opportunity cost – you simply cannot eat your cake and have it.

For everything we want or do, there is something that must be forfeited for it to happen and that is just the way the world works. You want to get ahead in a highly competitive career – you probably have to become ruthless at playing the game at work. You want to live the sophisticated life – you would have to work hard to achieve the wealth to make it happen.  It just is the way things are.

For the wealthy, money doesn’t come easy and is even harder to maintain which is why the greater the success, the harder the successful person works. Like the highly successful woman I am watching on TV, she has to give up some family time in order to do even more in her quest for the ultimate pinnacle in her career. I understand this but her family does not – which frankly amazes and annoys me.  They want her around all the time but they also brag about how successful she is and do not hesitate to use her name to gain favours for themselves. Is that not hypocritical? If she didn’t forfeit some time with them to work long hours to get to the top, would they have her name to conveniently drop when it suits them? Even more irritating is when I see these complainants unashamedly enjoying the perks of this woman’s hard labour – they drive fancy cars, vacation wherever they want and don’t have to worry about money. Do they not realize all these things come at some cost? Personally, I think people should be more supportive of their family members who are working so hard, especially when you are a beneficiary of the gains of that hard work. 

Don’t get me wrong though – I am not saying that work should be an excuse to shirk one’s responsibilities in their personal life’, I am just saying that instead of complaining that the person, who is paying your bills and whose name is opening doors for you, is never there for a school play or a family gathering, simply encourage them to be more present whenever they are present so that you can have a rich experience. Better that than to be a whiner!

Although you can whine if you want; just make sure to distance yourself from whatever privileges that person’s hard work brings.