Critical Daily    Critical practice in graphic design

Why don’t we enjoy things as they are, and why aren’t we thankful for every opportunity we have? Why do we have to complain instead of changing the actual thing we don’t like? The trouble is that today we associate complaining with venting, far more than solving the problem. We’re looking for a person who will sympathise with us. We think that we have a much more interesting story to tell rather than asking the person how they are doing.

How much time do we actually spend complaining on a daily basis? It’s been proven that we invest eight minutes and 46 seconds per day in just complaining: six months of our lives.

There’s a difference between telling someone about a problem when we want their help to solve it, and complaining about something when we actually don’t plan to do anything about it. Just fishing for some kind of sympathy or trying to take advantage of someone’s good intentions. We complain instead of making things better for ourselves. We are automatically taking a step back from our goals. Of course, it’s easier to moan than to achieve things.

What we’re supposed to do when we don’t like something is to change it. If we can’t change it, then we must change the way we think about it. Don’t complain.
I was wondering how to interact with people and convince them not to complain for at least a day. So I decided to create this kind of a tear-off flyer. In total, there are four commitments they are asked to make until the end of the day. I've tried to keep them simple, challenging people to take small steps towards bettering their day and to prevent them from complaining.

“I will change the things I don’t like.”
“I will be more thankful for what I have.”
“I will talk about my joys.”
“I will look forward to the little things.”

I placed these flyers in various spots, such as in lifts, at bus stops and at the front gates of buildings. People usually have to spend a while in these places and therefore have ime to read something. If they’re not in a hurry, they might consider it.

I’d stuck my first flyer in the lift in our building, and was extremely surprised. Not a day had passed and all of the tabs had been taken. Some people, after they were finished, even gave the small papers back for other people to take. When I checked the other locations, the tear-off tabs had also disappeared.

I hope I made their day just a tiny bit shinier and exciting, and that people have realised that complaining doesn’t have to be essential in our daily conversations. I was very glad for this quick response.