Fix It or Flush It
The US election 2024 isn’t just national news, it’s an international blockbuster. The proof is that my dad, a former government officer living in China, has been following the election with excitement like when I watched my first action movie back in high school.
As the presidential race became more intense, our phone conversations became almost daily. But for me, these calls opened the floodgates of complaints. I was like, “The candidates were throwing insults at each other. The polls are all wrong. The media? Don’t even get me started. The country’s a mess!” I was on a roll, venting like the opening monologue of the Jimmy Kimmel show.
One day, during one of my rants, my dad interrupted me with a joke. It was one of his classic dad jokes:
“Hi, guess what we had for lunch today? Sweet soup! Your mom put sugar in the soup instead of salt. Hahaha~”
At first, I thought, Wait, what? Mom would never do that. But then I couldn’t help it — I burst out laughing.
We got back to the election talks, and I continued grumbling. “The polls are useless. The media is terrible. …” Then, a few minutes later, he stopped and repeated the same joke. This time, I gave him a polite chuckle. And then, the third time, he repeated the same joke. This time, I sat in silence, wondering, What’s wrong, Dad?
Finally, he said, “If you can’t laugh at the same joke over and over, why do you keep complaining about the same problems?”
Here you are, Dad.
My dad is one of those people who can charm you with his optimism, even when life throws punches straight to his face. A few years ago, he had a stroke. It shook our entire family, but the doctors managed to save his life with a heart operation. Just as we were beginning to breathe again, a routine checkup revealed a tumor in his kidney. Another major surgery.
The family was in full panic mode, especially my mom. Bless her heart, she kept saying, “Why him? He’s tough as iron!” Meanwhile, my dad? He was cracking jokes. “Look at me. I am recovering faster than anybody else in the hospital. You see? All those years of exercise paid off!”
Here’s what amazes me: Not once — not once — did he complain. He didn’t grumble about his bad luck or wallow in self-pity. When we joked that his decades of exercise had somehow earned him two major surgeries, he shrugged and said, “Isn’t lucky we found the tumor early? And I had full recovery from both surgeries. Doesn’t that prove I’m strong and healthy?”
Growing up, my dad was my lighthouse, always reminding me, “Don’t be a wimpy boy.” He taught me to take life punches with humor and resilience. I try to follow his lead, but there are moments when I can’t stop complaining. And what does it get me? Nothing but wasted time and energy — and I still have to deal with the mess. In those moments, I think of my dad — or one of his dad jokes. Honestly, it doesn’t even matter what the joke is. Just picturing him delivering it is enough to make me chuckle.
What he taught me is simple: complaining doesn’t fix anything. It just weighs you down. If something’s within your control, take action. If it’s not, complaining won’t change a thing — it only robs you of your peace. My dad didn’t waste time asking, “Why me?” Instead, he asked, “What’s next?” He turned his focus to what he could do and found strength and humor along the way.
So the next time you find yourself whining, ask yourself: Is this worth the energy? Because life is too precious to be spent whining when we could be shining.
