Are there good days to complain? Are there legitimate reasons for whining? I felt like it this morning. We set our clocks ahead one hour because of the end to Daylight Saving Time so one less hour of sleep. Complaining? I’m sure Facebook and Twitter are full of it. But in the whole scheme of life, the loss of one hour’s sleep is pretty trivial.

We have all whined about something at one time or another. Maybe the neighbor’s dog pooped in your yard…the bunnies ate your recently planted pansies…the snowplow left a wall of wet snow in your driveway…gas prices went up another dime overnight…that driver just pulled out in front of me…the grocery store doesn’t carry my particular brand of tea…the doctor’s office doesn’t open until 8:30. I’ve made all of these specific complaints and thousands more.

Quick – think of 5 things you’ve whined about lately. I’ll give you 5 seconds. It was easy, wasn’t it? If you had any trouble, check your Facebook timeline. You probably have more than 5 on there. I know I do.

Did my whining solve my perceived problem? No. Granted, I can discuss the dog issue with my neighbor but I had better have a decent attitude and approach or I’ll get more dog poop, not less. Personally, I think the U.S. has an epidemic of complaining, and social media has given us a public forum to voice all of it…over and over and over. Twitter rants is an actual term for it.

But I want to be a part of the solution, not contribute to the problem. The next time you’re tempted to start a status on social media with a complaint, re-read it before hitting “post.” Then make the good decision to just delete it all. Then start typing in a status full of gratitude, or thankfulness, or report of a kindness done for you by someone else. Make a commitment to go one whole day without complaining about anything. One day at a time. Let’s do it together. Let’s join our voices in praise, not pettiness.

Stop the epidemic.