Shine Bright like a Diamond

There are so many annoying grumblers, complainers, and crazy people posting on the internet. I hope you aren’t one of them, but you for sure know some of these types of people. Or the kinds of people who maybe don’t start posts, but see a post they disagree with and feel the insatiable urge to respond publicly about why the original poster is so wrong about the post. Then a comment battle begins with everyone talking, but nobody listening. I hate to admit it, but I’ve found myself stuck in a few of these and no one ever wins.

It’s a turn off isn’t it? Makes you want to “unfriend” them or hide their posts from your feed sometimes, right?

People who do communication different- who are genuinely positive and hopeful without being annoying show offs- these people really do shine bright. They encourage us, make us laugh, turn our focus to Jesus, and cause us to be grateful.

How do we be more like that type of participant on social media or person in the world?

A few ideas:

1. Turn your eyes to Jesus. Just for a minute. Look at all he’s done for you, how he is in control, and has the last word. It changes your perspective, and you feel less of an urge to post/speak.

2. Choose gratitude. Be thankful. When you think of things you are thankful for and things start to shift. Suddenly a problem at work turns into a privilege to steward, because you’ve been given the role precisely to be in charge of solving these issues as they come up.

3. Slow down. Think before you speak. Often our grumbling and complaining is the result of a tirade of negative talk in our internal processing that turns into external gossip and toxic commentary. If you’re a verbal processor like I am, sometimes taking even a few minutes to consider whether you really do need to say all those things out loud results in you not saying those things out loud.

4. Try a Complaining Fast. For one day or one week, decide you will not grumble or complain. Become conscious of your external and internal dialogue and it may radically convict and change the way you approach a day in your life.

Shine Bright my friends!