The Fish Burger Man

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

I learned long ago that the Number One Rule to be happy is “to not complain”. It really is.

Today I was talking with a longtime friend, what I heard were “complaints” of how life is difficult, how things are bad, how you can not do anything against the crisis and against politicians …. whatever.

Repeatedly reminded me of the story of the Fish Burger Man. I will tell:

There once was a man who got a job in an office. At lunch time they all joined in a little room and talked over lunch they had brought from home.

This man opened his lunch box and began to mutter, “Damn! Another time a fish burger! I hate fish burgers”. And there he ate, annoyed, muttering.

The next day, at lunch time, the same thing: “Damn! Again fish burger. I’m sick of it, I hate fish burgers.” And ate lunch very angry.

And it was like this every day: He opened the lunchbox, protested because lunch was a fish burger, grumbled and ate.

One day his colleagues, tired of hearing the complaining and not standing his bad mood, suggested the following:

– “Look here, if you do not like fish burgers why not talk to your wife and you open yourself to her? Tell her you do not like fish burgers and she will send you another thing for lunch for sure.”

To which the man replied:

– “But I’m not married. I prepare the fish burgers myself every day.”

This story is self-explanatory, but for the most distracted I’ll explain: What you have in your life today was you who created with the choices you made. It’s stupid to complain about having the life that we built ourselves. Do not you think?

Yes, I know that not everything is our fault. There are natural disasters, there are others that interfere, there is a government, a crisis, the air polluted, floods, whatever. And none of it depends on you.

Obvious. But these are the circumstances. They are the sea we sail. That sea, however, is the same for everyone but even so, some thrive and are happy while others live miserably (with or without money) and are unhappy.

This is proof that everyone has a say. And a word is enough to change the course of our life.

Jim Rohn, who I knew personally said “you can not change the wind but you can change the position of the sails.”

Of course, anyone who complains about the wind did not even have clear ideas to understand that some things can change, and that these small changes make the direction in which the wind blows is irrelevant.

This way of living has a name: Freedom.

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