After this year’s local Christmas parade, my mom made the comment that it was so nice to sit next to people who had nothing but positive comments about the parade.

Those near her made several specific positive comments about many of the floats in the parade, like the lights, the theme, and the music.

I agree. It is nice to hear nothing but the good for once!

But that’s not always the case, and it makes me wonder, in a world with such horrific things like war, drugs, sex trafficking, abuse, cancer and more, why would we do anything to add more negativity to it, especially when it comes to things that don’t impact us in a way that is life-altering?

There has been an ice fishing tournament for several years in which hundreds of people participate. It is typically a fun day with people laughing and visiting and sometimes even catching fish.

An announcement was made recently that the tournament would not be held in 2025, and one of the reasons I am told is because of the number of complaints about different aspects of the event. Complaints from people who lift exactly zero fingers to help organize the event, which, as events do, takes a tremendous amount of work.

I’ve been to the event every year, and, even if things weren’t how I would do it, there was certainly nothing to complain about.

If you’ve been paying attention to the local news lately, you are probably aware of a proposed housing development project. The development is planned near the Industrial Park area.

For years, there have been screams for more housing. You’d think the announcement of more housing would have been met with enthusiasm.

Instead, several people are complaining about the projected cost of the homes for sale or rent. They are complaining that the city agreed to sell the property for just $10 to the developers in exchange for the developers paying for all the utility work. I saw some people even asking for more information about where the developers acquired the money for the project.

So, if I’ve got this right, people want more housing, but only if the housing is exactly what they want it to be. It must be somehow magically funded so it can be afforded by anyone.

Have you looked at the cost of new construction? Would you enter a business venture knowing you’d lose money?

According to some who are not involved with the project, the property must be sold to the developers at market rate. Forget about the long-term impact on the tax roll. Additionally, some think the public deserves access to the private developer’s finances and gets to approve of where the funding is coming from.

It is ridiculous that people make such a big deal out of those things, but what is more ridiculous to me is that, in a world where there are such massive dark spots and societal problems, so many people choose to focus on things that, at the end of the day, don’t truly impact them in any significantly negative way.

Consider the fishing tournament. I cannot think of a single thing that someone should complain about that would have an impact on the rest of their life. Maybe there were little things someone disagreed with or would have done differently, but to complain about things that don’t matter in the big picture is a waste of energy.

About the housing development, perhaps you’re in the market for low-income housing and maybe this isn’t going to meet your needs, but does that mean the project is bad for the community? There are other people besides you. What might the trickle-down impact be? Is it possible that someone could choose to move to that development, leaving their home on the market or available for rent?

Is it possible that more people could move to the area because they now have housing available, adding economic growth to the region?

There are good people everywhere, and, for that, I’m grateful.

But there are also people who are choosing to focus on and create negativity that doesn’t need to be there.

If we were more able to see that most things are a blip in the big picture, and that many things we perceive as negative are positive in the long term, we could stop wasting energy on meaningless negativity and focus our energy on things that truly matter.

Jackie Krawczak is president of Jackie Krawczak LLC. Her column runs every three weeks on Thursdays. Follow Jackie on X @jkrawczak.