I recently accepted an offer from a company that I had been working part time for. They offered me a full time salary and boy did I need it. I have been struggling financially for quite some time now. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work for this company and to finally make the money I should have always been making.

Many times when I start a new company I take a while to observe the interaction between the employees. I have already noticed that some of the employees of this company are grumblers. You know… those employees that are always talking bad about the company they work for or that sit in meetings with a frown on their face. They can whine and complain about the smallest details. Some of them are still good at what they do though so a good boss will keep them employed. An excellent boss will keep duct tape on hand to shut their mouths when they start bitching.

I used to gravitate to people like this. I can’t really say why. Sometimes I wouldn’t gravitate to them, they would gravitate to me. As I reflect on my working history I have realized that listening to the grumblers never seemed to help me in my career. I rarely could do anything to solve their problem and it seemed that listening to them would just add more stress to my life.

I have decided that I will try to avoid the grumblers, so as not to become one. This decision has reminded me of a verse I memorized a few years ago. Psalms 1:1 – “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers.”

Then today as I was driving home from work I heard on NPR a neuroscientist who proclaimed that avoiding conflict increased efficacy. So not only will I not be a grumbler but I may even be more efficient at my job. Sounds like a win win to me!