Complaining is like a rash—too easy to catch, and tough to get rid of. I speak from experience. I’m a recovering “complain-a-holic” who’s still trying to find the cure.

And I don’t think it’s just me. It seems that complaining, with a heavy dose of cynicism, has become our national pastime.

It only takes three minutes on Facebook, Twitter, talk radio, or the news stations to know that if you’re not complaining about something, you’re a bit of an outsider.

Complaining has become our social currency, our shared language used to form a mutual—if somewhat bitter—understanding of the world we live in.

This kind of criticism has become signature to our society—as culturally cool as deep v-necks and neon sunglasses. But where is our cynicism leading us? If we let our complaints guide the way, dragging us through the mud, what is the outcome?

The outlook may be bleak right now for those in the “Great Recession”, but there are some who are choosing not to wallow but to walk confidently forward—a band of people who have chosen to follow another word, forcing cynicism on a raft and shove it out to sea.

That word? Create. And this word is powerful.

To read the rest of this article, head over to Relevant Magazine where I have the honor of writing today.