There are a lot of things these days that I can christen Classic First World Problems.
Just the term alone is equivalent to someone slapping me in the face and
screaming “SUCK IT UP PRINCESS!”. Or,
as we used to say when I was younger “awwwww….diddums”. This can only be said in a baby voice -
it’s the only way it truly works.
A slight tilt to the head also gives it credo. Urban Dictionary has a number of definitions for the word diddums. All of which have me
chuckling like the maniacal Gen X that I am.
But I digress.
First World Problems. You
know what I’m talking about – we all have them and we’ve always had them. My informal definition is that it’s just
crap that we’re complaining about.
Mindless, senseless and indulgent complaints. Only now we’ve been given
a new label to use. This new label
puts it all in a different light and allows us to look at our ‘problems’ (this
term is used very loosely) using perspective. Urban Dictionary defines it like this:
“Problems from living in a wealthy, industrialized nation
that third worlders would probably roll their eyes at.”
Aw, crap, I don't know
which 1 carat diamond encrusted platinum ring to buy!
Looking at our niggles and worries in this light can help us
to see our worries differently, and quite possibly have a laugh at ourselves.
- iPad dock not working properly and now you have to hold the bloody thing in your lap & use the actual keyboard on the iPad? Good God! First World Problem.
- You’ve bought too many groceries to fit in the fridge, so you have to trudge downstairs to fill the other fridge/freezer. In the rain. And you actually tsk. Are you friggin kidding me! First World Problem.
- Rolling your eyes and huffing while the person in front of you clearly has more than 15 items in the express shopping lane? SUCK IT UP. First World Problem.
- The blue tooth in your BMW isn’t pairing with your phone? Awwww…diddums… FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.
At the end of last year a very dear friend of mine was going
through a family crisis. Someone
very near to them was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Things were grim, but they were holding it together. She was holding it together. And through it all, she remained
stalwart, positive and focused. I
would speak to her on the phone, and though she wasn’t the one with the life
threatening tumour, I knew how tough this was on her and the family. My heart hurt for my friend and her
family, and it pulled things into perspective for me. How could you possibly want to whinge and moan about not
getting enough sleep when someone you love dearly is coping with this? Almost anything that I was
annoyed at then, was clearly labelled a First World Problem. Nothing came close to this kind of
tragedy. Not within coo-ee.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t get the
shits, and complain about your boss or your colleagues, or that annoying person
who whistles whilst walking very closely behind you. Or your kids not eating one bite of the food you’ve just
slaved for an hour to cook for them.
Not at all. I think a good
vent and whinge can do us all good.
I would encourage it! But
don’t fool yourself. Don’t believe
your own crap, and think it’s actually important. There’s more important things to worry about.
It’s all too easy to get embroiled in our own Bold and the
Beautiful lives. He said this, she
said that. It’s a lucky
person that can see things in perspective and listen to their (reasonable) inner
voice in the heat of the moment. The voice that says “put the saucepan
down. The Architect didn’t mean it
that way, and after all he DID just clean the car, hang out the washing, put
the kids to bed and clean the kitchen”.
You know what I mean, right?
Things that have worked for me are things like replacing the
words “have to” with “get to”. So “I
have to cook the kids dinner”, becomes “I get to cook the kids dinner”. “I have to do the grocery shopping”
becomes “I get to do the grocery shopping”. This has saved me a number of times from spiralling into a
one-way slippery slope to feeling sorry for myself simply by putting the
emphasis on what I am privileged enough to be doing.
But enough of my rambling. It’s Sunday night and I want to finish this before Homeland
starts. I missed the end of last
week’s episode and I’ll be pissed if I miss this week’s. Oh wait…
First.
World. Problem.
Too true Leanne, one never has to look far to find someone that actually has a real problem or heartache they are going through, often health related. That quickly puts my own little dramas into perspective. This is what i think about and remind myself and I count my blessings that my loved ones are all in good health with a roof over the heads and meal on the table. WE live in the Lucky or Fortunate World!
ReplyDelete