From August 1st to August 15th I fasted from complaining. Yes, that's right. No more "I'm tired" grumbles¹ at 3 p.m. at the office. No more yelling at cars that cut me off on 440. No more snapping at people for not listening. The highlight of the two week period? I validated² that I'm not a terrible, negative person, AND optimistic people tend to live longer according to some studies. And I'm optimistic enough to believe these studies are the correct studies.

从8月1日那天起直到8月15日，我停止了对生活一切的抱怨。是的，没错。下午三点的办公室，再也不会听见我哀叹着：“我好累”。在440地区被抢了车道，我不会再大喊大叫。有人无视我的话，我也不会勃然大怒。这两周来最重要的发现是什么？我证明了自己不是个糟糕的、充满负能量的人。有研究表明乐观的人一般更长寿，而且我足够乐观，相信这些研究是正确的。

So here you go: The top five things that occurred when I stopped complaining, both the good and the bad.

那么接下来，我想谈谈自己停止抱怨生活之后的五个变化，其中有正面的，也有负面的。

1. I realized that I don't sleep enough. The biggest complaint that I had to bite my tongue on?

1、我意识到自己睡眠不足，这是最不该挂在嘴边的抱怨吗？

"I'm tired." Or a variation of "I'm exhausted³." American culture leaves us seeking to thrive off of no sleep and Starbucks. And is it really worth it to feel that negativity quite literally⁴ every day? I found myself almost getting annoyed with myself for being so tired. On the same note, I annoyed myself when I felt like uttering the complaint, "I'm starving." No, Alexii. You don't actually know what it really means to be hungry (so maybe you aren't THAT tired either).

“我好累”，或者，“我要累死了”。美国文化迫使我们在不足的睡眠和一杯杯咖啡中度日。每天生活在这样的负面环境中真的值得吗？连我自己都很烦恼，为什么要把自己折腾得这么累。同样，当我想要喊出“我要饿死了”的时候，也十分烦恼。不，Alexii，你并不知道什么叫真正的饿吧（所以也许你也并没有自己说得这么累）。

2. I argued less.

2、我吵架的频率变少了。

I'm not exactly one to pick a fight, but I noticed how many stupid arguments I can have in a week. If my fiancé Alex said something I disagreed with, I couldn't immediately react. This helped me not snap -- and more importantly it made me think before anything came out of my mouth. I'm pretty sure we've been told since kindergarten, "Think before you speak" but I noted⁵ how often I neglect this simplest piece of advice.

我不是那种喜欢挑事的人，但我还是会发现一周里自己有过多少次愚蠢的争吵。如果我的未婚夫艾利克斯说了一些我反对的话，我不会马上回应他。这样我就不会大声吼他，更重要的是，这样我就有时间在说话前多思考思考了。我确信从幼儿园开始，大人们就告诉我们“三思而后言”，但我觉得我还是很容易忽视这个最简单的建议。

3. Angst builds up.

3、焦虑感增加了

Here's the deal: this experience was overall a positive experience for me. It truly made me reflect on my reactions to situations. That being said, sometimes people just need to vent⁶. There was one day that I came home completely exhausted and slightly emotionally distraught. Instead of engaging in conversation with my friend that was at my house or my fiancé, I straight up shut down. It's almost as if I didn't know how to be positive in that moment. It was strange. And I went to bed early that night. But on a lighter⁷ note...

是这样的：这种体验对我来说是有好处的，它真的使我反省自己在特定处境下的行为。话虽如此，有时人们只是需要释放情绪而已。记得有一天我回到家，身心俱疲，心烦意乱。我没有找当时在我家中的朋友或是未婚夫聊天，而是直接陷入沉默。仿佛那时我根本不知道怎样让自己乐观起来，太奇怪了。那晚我很早就睡了，但反而感觉轻松了很多……4. Negativity is a state of mind.

4、负能量是一种心境

When you stop yourself from uttering negative speech, you begin to notice how negative your thought process tends to be. Sure I didn't verbally complain when I was tired or annoyed -- but I still continued thinking them. And as much as negative speech can wear you down, negative thoughts are just as dangerous.

当你不再说出那些消极的话语，你会发现自己还是会有那些消极的想法。诚然，我言语上没有抱怨疲劳或是烦躁，但我依然有着这样的想法。和消极的话语一样，消极的想法一样会消磨你的意志。

5. I prayed more.

5、我尝试更多的祈祷

If I was forced to turn the negative into the positive, I turned to God. Perhaps its from prior⁸ experience--but for whatever reason, it happened. And my spirit felt nourished.

如果我一定要把负能量转为正能量，我会向上帝求助。也许是从前的经验吧，不管怎样，我感受到了精神上的洗礼。

And at the end of the day? Shit happens. After my fast from complaining, I had what may have been one of the worst days I had experienced. Imagine tough conversations that were draining but necessary (and even worse after the conversation, nothing was resolved) compiled with other people's negativity. Then add a few "first world" problems as I like to call them -- a poor night's sleep, a shattered phone, and a stalling car. What did I do? I complained. Where did it get me? Not too far. I noted a day later that things really aren't that bad. People have good days and people have bad days -- but the truth is? It's all about your outlook.

最后怎样了呢？糟糕的事情还是发生了，在我拒绝抱怨之后，我经历了非常糟的一天。想象一下：艰难的谈话使你心力交瘁（更可恶的是谈完之后什么都没有解决），你不得不承受着别人的负能量。接着还有那些我称之为“第一世界”的麻烦困扰着你——睡眠不足，手机被摔坏，车子抛锚。我是怎么应对的？我抱怨了。持续了多久呢？没有多久，因为后来我明白其实事情也没有想象的那样不堪。世事无常嘛，关键在于你怎样看待这个世界。