How To Stop Complaining & Start Making Progress

Complaining feels good in the moment, but it is the very thing keeping you stuck. It convinces you that you are doing something, when in reality nothing changes. The truth is simple: you can have excuses or you can have results, but you cannot have both. In today’s episode, Omar shares how to break free from the cycle of complaints and replace them with action. You will learn why venting is deceptive, how it rewires your focus toward problems instead of solutions, and what shifts can help you finally start moving forward. You can keep complaining, or you can start changing. Press play at the top of the page and choose progress. MBA2743 How To Stop Complaining & Start Making ProgressResources:MBA890 Must Read: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzMBA555 Must Read: I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit SethiMBA1463 Must Read: The Five Minute Journal by Alex IkonnRecommended episode to explore:MBA2734 Must Read: Turning Pro By Steven PressfieldWatch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHiSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Today's episode is supported by Cash App. When it comes to Bitcoin, you may be surprised to learn that it was invented way back in 2008. But you still haven't made the jump to Bitcoin yet? Cash App makes it easy. When you buy Bitcoin on Cash App, they hold real Bitcoin for you, one to one, and you can withdraw it anytime. It works more like real money and less like something locked in an account. No extra steps, no restrictions, just access and control when you need it. With Cash App, you can actually do that. For a limited time, new customers can get $10 added to their balance. Just use code BITCOIN10 when you sign up. And, don't forget this part: send at least $5 to a friend in the first two weeks. Terms apply. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank.

• 0:45Speaker 00

  Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partners. Bitcoin services provided by Block Incorporated brand. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures at cash.app/legal/podcast. Small business owners, listen up. You started your business, but you can't do it alone. And that means you have to hire people to help. That's where Justworks comes in. Justworks is the payroll, benefits, and global hiring platform to unburden your brain from all the complicated small business stuff. They handle the things you can't afford to get wrong, so you don't have to worry. So you can focus on the parts of running a business that you enjoy, knowing everything else is running smoothly. You don't have to worry when it just works. Let me ask you an honest question.

• 1:29Speaker 00

  Why do you complain? Seriously, answer the question, figure out, and think. Why do you feel like complaining when things happen? When things don't go your way? The truth is that I find that complaining feels productive, but it's actually the reason why you're stuck. Not your lack of talent, not the economy, not the algorithm, not your circumstances. Complaining is like a drug. It's like a drug that convinces you you're doing something that actually guarantees that nothing changes. Here is the honest truth. You can have excuses, or you can have results. You just can't have both.

• 2:11Speaker 00

  Welcome back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host, Omar Zenhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business.

• 2:24Speaker 00

  If this show has helped in any way, it would be amazing if you could drop us a quick review on whatever app you're using to listen to this podcast right now. It helps me and my team bring new episodes every week, and more importantly, more entrepreneurs will be able to discover our podcast so you can help someone else start their journey. Thanks so much.

• 2:46Speaker 00

  Today's episode might be a splash of cold water on your face, or even a gut punch, but it's also a way out of this cycle that you might be going through, where things don't go your way, you complain, you get frustrated, you get angry, and nothing changes. Complaining doesn't actually come from intelligence. It doesn't come from awareness. It actually comes from insecurity. When you complain, you're subconsciously doing a few things in your mind. You're protecting your ego, you're explaining away inaction, and you're actually outsourcing responsibility. You're saying that this is not my fault. And in the moment, when you're complaining, it somehow feels good, so to speak. In that moment, it feels cathartic. What no one really tells you,

• 3:28Speaker 00

  and what I had to figure out the hard way, is that complaining actually has zero upside. Like, there is no positives to complaining. It doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't make you feel better, long-term. It doesn't move you any closer to where you want to go. It doesn't build your confidence. It doesn't earn you respect by your peers or the people around you. Actually, you become like an annoying person in their life. In fact, it trains your brain to look for what's wrong instead of what's possible. And that is a killer, because when you're always looking for what's wrong, you really don't give yourself a chance to succeed. And once it becomes your default mode to complain, anytime something doesn't go the way you want it,

• 4:10Speaker 00

  progress starts to feel really heavy, feels slow, it feels overwhelming. And it's kind of a loop that you get into. Want to break that loop today. And if you are brave enough to admit that this is happening to you, you're in the right place because you're going to get some solutions. You're going to have a plan of action, starting with this first step. And it's a rule that I have established and I want to share with you. It's one rule that can change how you operate from day to day and for the rest of your life. So when you complain, as soon as you catch yourself complaining, you know that you have to take action. It's like a debt you have to pay. No exceptions. You gotta make a rule in your life that complaining without action is banned, not allowed, illegal.

• 4:54Speaker 00

  This rule works because it makes complaining expensive. It makes it really costly. Suddenly, victimhood, being a victim, is inconvenient. Responsibility, it really becomes automatic. You start to feel that I gotta take responsibility when things happen. No one else will. No one's gonna take action for you. And what you realize is that taking action and making progress becomes the easiest option. And that's where momentum starts to build. So you've established a rule. When you complain, you have to take action. It's like a debt you have to pay. That's the rule, okay? So that was technically like the overarching rule. Let's move into like the real step one of the system.

• 5:35Speaker 00

  And before I reveal what step one is, I want to make sure you understand that we don't stop complaining by trying harder, okay? Just by being more mindful. No, you stop complaining by installing structure in your life that replaces complaining. So the first step is we want to categorize the complaint. Every complaint is gonna fall into one of three buckets. The first one is something you can control, which is most of the things we're gonna complain about, because that's what I've found. Number two, something you can influence, right? So the difference between something you can control and something you can influence is like you have total control over, and then something you can influence, like maybe you're not in total control, but you can really influence the outcome in a lot of ways. You could do something about it.

• 6:18Speaker 00

  And number three, something you don't control, something that you don't have any control over or any influence. Let's start with that one. So if you don't control it, if you don't control the situation that That you're in, the problem that you have, you need to drop it immediately. It's really a waste of energy. Complaining about it is a waste of energy because there's nothing you can do about it. So actually complaining is going to make you feel worse, it's going to make everything worse, and it's not going to change anything. So just try as much as possible to drop it. What a lot of people like to do is just like, take a moment to just like, recognize the fact that that happened, and this is the situation, and you have no control over it. And that should be a relief for you. If you're like, well, there's nothing I could do about it. So I'm kind of relieved of taking any action. If you do control it, or influence it,

• 7:03Speaker 00

  you owe yourself an action. End of discussion. You need to take action now. Step two, you want to replace complaints with questions. Oof, this one is a game changer. So, for example, instead of saying, "This is so frustrating", or "Why does this always happen to me?", or "This shouldn't be this hard. This feels impossible", you want to flip these statements into questions. Curious questions, like, "What's one move I can make right now?", or "What am I avoiding? What got me into this mess because I was avoiding something?" Another good question is, "What would progress look like in the next 10 minutes? In the next 10 minutes, how would I feel like I'm making progress?

• 7:47Speaker 00

  What would I have to do to have that feeling?" What I love about questions is that they create ownership. You're throwing it back on yourself, and realizing, "I need to take ownership. I need to do something about this. No one else will." The moment that you start recognizing this, the moment everything starts to change. One of my favorite lines in a book called "The Hard Thing About Hard Things", by Ben Horowitz, is that "It's all your fault." He goes on this whole rant in the book about all these things that has happened to him in his business, and he said that he started to improve, and things started to turn around, when he started to realize that anything that happens to him is his fault. It's no one else's fault, it's my fault. I need to take ownership of that.

• 8:29Speaker 00

  Somebody quits, somebody gets poached, the servers go down. "Everything is your fault", he says in the book, and it really was an eye-opening moment for me. It really was like a gut punch for me, because I was really blaming everybody else. When I needed to start asking questions, started to take responsibility, and when I did that, I felt empowered. I was like, "Oh, wow." By taking ownership, it means that I can come up with solutions. I can actually change things, and things can get better. Today's episode is supported by Rosetta Stone. I absolutely love Rosetta Stone because it's helping me learn Italian faster than I can ever imagine. Why do I want to learn Italian? Well, who doesn't love Italy? But of course, Nicole's family is Italian and I'd love to have some quick Italian conversations with her mom.

• 9:15Speaker 00

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• 9:59Speaker 00

  She was incredibly impressed I was able to answer in Italian. How could you put a price tag on a happy mother-in-law? If you want to take your language skills to the next level, don't wait to try Rosetta Stone Sapphire. The $100 MBA listeners can get 20% off the Rosetta Stone Sapphire subscription when they sign up today. This gets you access to Rosetta Stone Sapphire in 25 languages. Support for today's episode comes from Square. You probably know Square is the thing you tap your card on at your favorite coffee shop, restaurant, salon, or local store. But for the person running that business, Square is a whole lot more than a way to get paid. Square brings the tools you need to run and grow your business together in one system. From payments on appointments, to staff, inventory, sales, and customer relationships.

• 10:42Speaker 00

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• 11:12Speaker 00

  Step 3: Track Complaints for 1 Week. This is not to shame yourself, but this is so that you can become aware. Write down your complaints. Number 1, the reason why I like this rule is because it's a little bit of work, right? And if you find yourself complaining, you have to now write it down. And now you're gonna start realizing, "Maybe I shouldn't be complaining so much, so I don't have to write these things down." And what I've found, and what most people find, is that they are shocked how often they complain, and how rarely they act, right? Awareness alone starts rewiring behavior. Somebody cuts you off when you're driving, and you start complaining. That's something that you need to write down. Maybe you need to dictate it, or get your friend next to you to write it down on your phone.

• 11:55Speaker 00

  You're at a shop, and the customer service is horrible, and the cashier is treating you like trash, and you start complaining. This is one of the things I complain a lot about, and I have to catch myself. My friend, Ramit Sethi, who is a personal finance expert, he challenged me. He said, "Hey, I want you to not complain about prices." The funny thing is that this is very ingrained in my DNA because of my immigrant background, and my mom used to always complain about, "This is too expensive." And it doesn't matter what the price is, it's just too expensive always. So I wanna kick that habit. And one of the challenges he gave me is like, "Hey, be aware, and you're not allowed to complain about anything that costs anything." So one of the activities I'm doing is I'm writing it down every time that happens to be.

• 12:39Speaker 00

  Either I make a note on my phone, or I write it down in my notebook, or in my journal in the morning. But it's a good way to kinda keep track of how often I'm actually doing this. And just being aware of it really makes you start to question, you know, "Why do I keep doing this?" Let's take things to the next level. This is like level 2 of this game called Stop Complaining. And in this level, the way we stop complaining is we make progress. People who make progress don't complain. People who complain aren't making progress. It's actually that simple. And if you wanna make it more complicated, that's on you. Progress eliminates negativity faster than anything else. When you make progress, it outbeats anything. Motivation, anything you could think of, because...

• 13:21Speaker 00

  Progress is proving to yourself that you can control things. You can change things. You can make things happen. Progress is far more powerful than anything like affirmations, or hyper, or self-talk, or any of that stuff. Progress lets you define what the future looks like. So even if progress is, you know, just dropping a kilo or a couple pounds on the scale after a good two weeks of working out and watching your diet, that alone, that progress is gonna give you such a boost. It's gonna also get you to stop complaining about whatever you're complaining about when it comes to this area of your life, because you're like, "Hey, I can't complain. I'm actually getting better. Things are getting better." I want to be clear here.

• 14:05Speaker 00

  Progress doesn't mean massive breakthroughs, or perfection, or some sort of, you know, heroic effort. Progress means small wins, in my book. You want small wins stacked daily. You want to shrink action until it's impossible to avoid, something that's super, super simple. If the goal feels heavy, or it feels too big, instead, I want you to make it a smaller goal, because that's gonna help you feel the progress, and it's gonna reduce the complaining. So instead of saying, "I want to build a business, or I want to launch a product, or I want to get in shape." These are very broad goals. Your goal today, this moment, is to write one paragraph in your next newsletter. Send one email, asking somebody for feedback.

• 14:50Speaker 00

  Outline one idea for your product. Work out for 15 minutes. Just get your heart rate up. That is what I like to do, because these micro actions, these small steps, will eventually add up and get me to where I want to go. The 15 minutes workout that will get my heart rate up, it's a small action that will get me in shape eventually. It's that first step in moving in the right direction. Momentum comes from consistency, in my opinion, and not intensity. People that treat their goals, and their life, and their direction, and what they want to achieve as a marathon, where they have to pace themselves, are the ones that actually make it to the finish line. If this idea of progress over complaining is hitting home right now,

• 15:35Speaker 00

  you should hit subscribe to the show because I have an upcoming episode that you don't want to miss. It's called "How to Make Your First Million Dollars in One Year Without Getting Lucky, No Matter Your Circumstances." So subscribe now so it lands automatically in your feed when it drops. All right, let's get back to it. Here's another tip when it comes to achieving things at a higher level. Every day should end with this sentence. Ready for this? "Today was a win because I did X." Okay, you need to have a daily win. And this is why I like the Five Minute Journal because this is actually a prompt in the journal. "Today was a win because I did X." Here's the kicker though. If you can't fill in that blank, if you can't answer what X is, your day wasn't designed for progress. You didn't actually do something to move forward.

• 16:20Speaker 00

  Even tiny wins change how you show up every day. The shift in your identity starts to be apparent. You go from being stuck to being somebody that does things. A doer, a mover, a shaker, somebody that actually gets things done. And movement builds confidence. As you take these small action steps, you start to build more and more confidence every single day. That leads me to this very important next part, which is you need to track your progress, not how you feel, right? Not feelings. Track progress, not feelings. Feelings, they lie. They're not a good measurement for you to measure by. Progress doesn't lie. If you show up and move the needle and do what you said you were going to do, that's a win.

• 17:04Speaker 00

  Winners don't wait to feel good to act. You can't just do things when you feel like it because that is what's going to cause the inconsistency. You need to do things because you promise yourself you're going to do them and you do them regardless of how you feel. I can't tell you how many times I've showed up to the gym and it felt sluggish and I didn't feel like working out and I felt like just turning around and going home. And as I'm working out, I get through my first set, my second set, I get through my first exercise, you know, and then my third and my fourth and then, okay. When I'm halfway through the exercise or through the workout, I'm like, okay, I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad I made it. And then by the time I get to the end, I'm like, oof, that was pretty good. I enjoyed that. But if I just followed my feelings, if I just did what I felt like doing,

• 17:49Speaker 00

  then I would never work out. That's just the truth. Now it's time for the final level, the big boss of never complaining, gratitude. Yep, that's the final level, the final gear that you need to shift into. Gratitude is not some sort of fluffy word. Gratitude is a strategy, really. It kills entitlement, it sharpens your perspective, it restores your energy. I find that gratitude is like the remedy to a lot of things. When you practice gratitude constantly, when you feel grateful for what you have, even the simple things in life, you stop saying, "I have to do this," and you start saying, "I get to do this." Instead of saying, "I have to work out," like the example I gave, "I get to work out.

• 18:30Speaker 00

  I have my limbs, I have my health, I have the ability to go to the gym, I can afford a gym membership." This is all a privilege, right? And gratitude is the, I would say, the serum that you need to take on a daily basis so that you can remind yourself that things are not as bad as you think they are. So here's a simple daily habit that I encourage you to do. One thing you're grateful for every single time you wake up in the morning, and one thing you made progress on at night. It's a very simple thing you could do. You can journal it, you can even just ask yourself and think about it in bed when you wake up in the morning. What am I grateful for this morning? It's a great way to start the day. It's hard to be in a bad mood when you're grateful. And then, at the end of the day, what is one thing you made progress on?

• 19:12Speaker 00

  Just so that you can build that confidence and remind yourself, "Hey, I'm doing things, I'm making progress." As I wrap up this episode, this is what I want you to remember, okay? This is what I want you to take away from today's episode. Winners, they don't complain. They come up with solutions. It doesn't mean that winners never feel frustrated or feel angry. It just means that they don't live there, right? They feel it for a moment and then they take action. So, if you want to win in business and in life, this is the path. It's not perfection, it's not motivation, it's all about progress, is taking action and moving forward.

• 19:48Speaker 00

  Before I go, I want to leave you with this. You already know what to do. You don't need more information. You don't need more permission. You don't need a perfect plan. You don't need to be a genius. You know this, right? You need to stop complaining long enough to take the next step. Complaining stops you in their tracks. It stops you from making that progress you know you can make. Because the moment you start making progress is the moment your life changes. All right? The noise starts to quiet. The excuses that you have in your head start to fade. The confidence that you have in yourself start to return. You start to feel good about yourself again. Right? And suddenly, you're not stuck anymore. You're moving. You're making progress. You're loving life.

• 20:29Speaker 00

  Things are great because progress, in my opinion, is contentment. Progress is happiness. Growing and growth is, in my opinion, the secret to a fulfilled life. If today's episode resonated with you, I highly recommend you check out an episode I recently recorded, which was a must read episode, an episode where I review a book. I talk about a book called Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield. Steven Pressfield is one of my favorite authors. And this book is all about crossing the line from being an amateur to being a professional and being a professional execution person, person to execute, right? I don't want to say executioner. And it pairs perfectly with today's message that we talked about. And it really allows you to understand that you need to take responsibility.

• 21:14Speaker 00

  His words are much more eloquent than mine. So go ahead and listen to that one. You're going to love that book and love that discussion. So go ahead and check it out. I hope to see you on that episode or the next. I'll check you then.

• 21:28Speaker 00

  If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

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