Sometimes, life has a way of getting under our skin. We find ourselves grumbling about the small annoyances and the bigger grievances. We all do it—complain about the weather, the traffic, or that interminable line at the grocery store.
These complaints, however, have inspired some of the most memorable quotes. They capture the shared frustration and humor of everyday life. Let’s explore some of the best complaining quotes that speak to our collective gripes.
Famous Complaining Quotes
“I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” – Persian Proverb
“People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” – Stephen Hawking
“The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.” – John Vance Cheney
“Complaining is finding faults in others instead of appreciating the virtues.” – Unknown
“The world’s a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” – Sean O’Casey
“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr
“To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge.” – Eckhart Tolle
“When you consistently maintain a positive and grateful attitude, complaining disappears.” – Charles F. Glassman
“Complaining about a problem without proposing a solution is called whining.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration, and resentment.” – Dale Carnegie
“The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects.” – Francis Jeffrey
“It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“If men had to endure the pain that women do, they would complain much more.” – Unknown
“People who never achieve happiness are the ones who complain whenever they’re awake.” – Unknown
“Complaining is good for you as long as you’re not complaining to the person you’re complaining about.” – Lynn Johnston
“There are two things people want more than sex and money… recognition and praise.” – Mary Kay Ash
“Don’t complain; just work harder.” – Randy Pausch
“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.” – Oscar Wilde
“A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.” – Oscar Wilde
“You can’t complain about a problem if you’re not willing to work on fixing it.” – Unknown
“Complaining is like vomiting. You might feel better after you get it out, but you make everybody around you sick.” – Unknown
“The habit of always complaining can be more fatal than a virus, spreading dysfunction around those who indulge.” – Unknown
“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
“Be grateful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.” – German Proverb
“A complainer is like a brake on the wheel of progress.” – Unknown
Inspiring Quotes about Complaints
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur Ward
“Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.” – German Proverb
“Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.” – Henry Ford
“If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” – Stephen Hawking
“The way to stop feeling complaints is to stop giving them voice.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do.” – Benjamin Franklin
“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
“You can only hold onto what you love by not complaining too much.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Complaints are the refuge of those who have not the will to act.” – Marcus Aurelius
“A man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.” – Lou Holtz
“Complaining is finding faults in a world that is inherently imperfect.” – Anonymous
“Your complaints, your drama, your victim mentality, your whining, your blaming, and all of your excuses have never gotten you even a single step closer to your goals or dreams.” – Steve Maraboli
“Stop complaining. Start creating.” – Dale Partridge
“Do not complain beneath the stars about the lack of bright spots in your life.” – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
“One can go on complaining forever, but it is not the best way to improve the situation.” – Agatha Christie
“Complaining is never powerful because it only focuses on the problem, never the solution.” – Robin Sharma
“Rather than complain about past hurts, one must build upon them as stepping stones to a better future.” – Oprah Winfrey
“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind to stop complaining.” – Caroline Myss
“Complaints are prayers to the devil.” – Bob Marley
“Of all the things that can tempt a person to complain, the easiest is to blame others for one’s own condition.” – Leo Tolstoy
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today through complaints and regrets.” – Will Rogers
“When things go wrong, don’t go with them.” – Elvis Presley
“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one. Stop complaining.” – Oscar Wilde
“The more you complain, the less you obtain.” – Anonymous
Complaining Quotes from Celebrities
“I have nothing to declare except my genius.” – Oscar Wilde
“I don’t know how to organize thoughts. I don’t know how feelings work.” – Shakira
“It’s sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life starts with goodbye.” – Carrie Underwood
“If my critics saw me walking over the Thames, they would say it was because I couldn’t swim.” – Margaret Thatcher
“I don’t do anything for free. Even breathing is billed.” – Katherine Hepburn
“My perfect world would be one in which we didn’t have to deal with money.” – Lady Gaga
“The more I see, the less I know for sure.” – John Lennon
“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?” – Demi Lovato
“If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” – Marilyn Monroe
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Rogers
“I’m not as dumb as I look.” – Dolly Parton
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon
“The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” – Bette Midler
“We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work.” – Kevin Hart
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” – John Cage
“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” – Abraham Lincoln
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” – Jerry Seinfeld
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
“I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.” – George Burns
“In Hollywood if you don’t have a shrink, people think you’re crazy.” – Johnny Carson
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” – Charles Bukowski
“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde
Powerful Quotes on Complaining
“Complaining not only ruins everybody else’s day, it ruins the complainer’s day, too. The more we complain, the more unhappy we get.” – Dennis Prager
“Complaining is finding faults without proposing solutions.” – Joseph Joubert
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
“Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.” – Benjamin Franklin
“You can’t be happy and complain at the same time.” – Mark Twain
“Do not listen with the intent to reply. But listen with the intent to understand.” – Stephen R. Covey
“Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses.” – Proverb
“To complain is always nonacceptance of what is.” – Eckhart Tolle
“Complaining about others is never really about others.” – Julianne Davidow
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” – Henry Ford
“Negative people need drama like oxygen. Stay positive, it will take their breath away.” – Tony Gaskins
“No one likes a complainer. It’s your choice—quit whining and start winning.” – Unknown
“Complaints are prayers to the wrong god.” – Proverb
“A complaining tongue reveals an ungrateful heart.” – William Arthur Ward
“Stop complaining and start creating.” – Anon
“Complaining is draining. Complaining only takes away energy from today and never solves the problems for tomorrow.” – James Altucher
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
“Complaining does not help to solve the problem; it only makes it worse.” – T.K. Oliver
“Complaining is like bad breath; you notice it when it comes out of somebody else’s mouth, but not your own.” – Will Bowen
“Some people seem to go through life standing at the complaint counter.” – Fred Propp
“When you complain, you explain pain for no gain.” – John M. Sheehan
“A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul.” – Jillian Michaels
“If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“The more you complain, the more you make yourself a victim. When you speak out, you become a warrior.” – Wilma Mankiller
“Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.” – William Arthur Ward
Comical Complaining Quotes
“I complain, therefore I am.” – Socratic Paradox
“I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.” – Charles Lamb
“I can’t complain, but sometimes I still do.” – Joe Walsh
“My life is a constant battle between wanting to correct grammar and being nice to people.” – Internet Meme
“I’m on a whiskey diet. I’ve lost three days already.” – Tommy Cooper
“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.” – Fred Allen
“My phone battery lasts longer than my New Year’s resolutions.” – Social Media Post
“I have a dog. It has been very helpful. I used to complain that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet. But, I bet he’s got one heck of a shoe collection now.” – Anonymous Blogger
“The worst part of online shopping is having to get up and get your credit card from the other room.” – Unknown
“I could complain about my job, but then again, I get paid to complain about my job.” – Dilbert
“I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical.” – Arthur C. Clarke
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx
“I complained about my Wi-Fi signal being slow until I remembered the dial-up days.” – Twitter User
“My bed and I are perfect for each other, but my alarm clock keeps trying to break us up.” – Pinterest Board
“I have a strong desire to complain about everything. It’s like I have a case of the Mondays every day.” – Office Worker
“I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.” – Social Media Comment
“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr
“I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes. She gave me a hug.” – Comedian
“I always arrive late to work, but I make up for it by leaving early.” – Anonymous
“I used to think I was indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.” – Musical Lyric
“My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I’m right.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
“If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.” – Steven Wright
“I don’t mind coming to work; it’s the eight-hour wait to go home I can’t stand.” – Author Unknown
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” – A.A. Milne
“I am on a diet. I have already cut out caffeine, fatty foods, and happiness.” – Humorous Facebook Post
“I finally realized that people are prisoners of their phones… that’s why they are called cell phones.” – Anonymous
Historical Complaining Quotes
“The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.” – Benjamin Franklin
“I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” – Helen Keller
“Nothing is more odious than the majority; it consists of a few strong leaders, of accommodating rascals, of weak followers, and of a mass of men who trudge after them without in the least knowing their own minds.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Complainers change their complaints, but they never reduce the amount of time spent in complaining.” – Mason Cooley
“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do.” – Dale Carnegie
“If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“Those who do not complain are never pitied.” – Jane Austen
“Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Complaining not only ruins everybody else’s day, it ruins the complainer’s day, too. The more we complain, the more unhappy we get.” – Dennis Prager
“People that pay for things never complain. It’s the guy you give something to that you can’t please.” – Will Rogers
“When any fit of gloominess, or perversion of mind, lays hold upon you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaints.” – Samuel Johnson
“Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” – Maurice Setter
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur Ward
“He who has learned to laugh at himself shall never cease to be amused.” – Shirley MacLaine
“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” – Hans Christian Andersen
“Don’t complain, just work harder.” – Randy Pausch
“Never complain and never explain.” – Benjamin Disraeli
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” – Henry Ford
“You can only hold a smile for so long, after that it’s just teeth.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr
“A critic is a legless man who teaches running.” – Channing Pollock
“Grumbling is the death of love.” – Marlene Dietrich
“Complaining is good for you as long as you’re not complaining to the person you’re complaining about.” – Lynn Johnston
“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” – Henry Ford
“One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him.” – Chinese Proverb
“Complaints are prayers to the devil.” – Arabian Proverb
Complaining Quotes from Books and Literature
“There is no greater sorrow than to recall in misery the time when we were happy.” – Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy
“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” – Lois Lowry, The Giver
“I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realizes an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don’t have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.” – Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
“It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.” – Agatha Christie, An Autobiography
“The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.” – Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” – Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
“You can’t complain about the things you refuse to change.” – Unknown
“Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable.” – Woody Allen, Annie Hall
“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.” – Jane Austen, Emma
“To complain of the age we live in, to murmur at the present possessors of power, to lament the past, to conceive extravagant hopes of the future, are the common dispositions of the greatest part of mankind.” – Edmund Burke, The Letters of Edmund Burke
“Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbor’s roof when your own doorstep is unclean.” – Confucius
“If there were no thunder, men would have little fear of lightning.” – Jules Verne, A Journey to the Center of the Earth
“People can cry much easier than they can change.” – James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
“Beware the fury of a patient man.” – John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel
“He who complains the most about the other person complains the most about himself.” – Nature’s Fortunes
“Every time we complain, we shoot ourselves in the foot.” – Charles F. Glassman, Brain Drain: The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life
“Man only likes to count his troubles; he doesn’t calculate his happiness.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground
“Those who do not complain are never pitied.” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
“Complaints are like the clouds that darken our path, but the sunshine of patience and love can disperse them.” – Serenity Sky
“The more you complain, the less you get done.” – Unknown
“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
“We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” – E. E. Cummings
“When life gives you lemons, don’t complain; make lemonade and find someone whose life has given them vodka.” – Ron White
“The more one complains, the less one gains.” – Unwritten Wisdom
“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” – John F. Kennedy
Last Words
Wrapping up, these complaining quotes remind us about the power of words and mindset. Instead of venting frustrations, we can choose to laugh or reflect. Each quote offers a different view on complaining, nudging us to think twice before griping.
So next time you feel the urge to complain, recall these quotes. They might just inspire you to find humor in your troubles or look at things from a fresh angle. Complaining might be easy, but a good quote can show us a better way.
