You know the feeling when you think you absolutely have to get something in the mail before the post office closes at 5 p.m. and you don’t think you’re going to make it? If you’re anything like me, you panic. You grab the papers, shove them in an envelope, run around the house looking for your lost keys, jump in your car, and drive like a maniac down the street.

All of that happened to me the other day. Only I didn’t make it before the post office closed. I was about to get really mad when I remembered that the nearby Dahl’s could weigh, stamp, and send out mail, so I moved on to Plan B.

When I got to Dahl’s, I asked the lady at the customer service counter if she could weigh and mail a letter for me. “I’m sorry,” she replied. “But we ran out of mailing labels.”

“What? You ran out of mailing labels? How is that even possible?” is what I wanted to say. But, instead, I asked her if she knew of anywhere else I could go to get my letter sent out. She told me I could try a different Dahl’s on the other side of town.

Boy, was I mad as I walked back to my car. I had already wasted at least a half an hour trying to get this stupid letter mailed out, and now I was going to waste even more time and gas driving across town. The whole way there, I was in a bad mood: driving too fast, complaining to myself, and getting mad at other drivers who were driving too slowly.

When I got to the other Dahl’s, I again asked the customer service lady if she could weigh and mail the letter and—much to my delight—she said yes. As she did, she continued the conversation she was having with her coworker.

It went something like: “I just don’t think it’s fair that we work so hard and all they do is stand their checking groceries and we don’t get paid any more then they do.” I can’t be sure on the exact phrasing, but it was clear that she was complaining because she thought she deserved more pay for the amount of work she was doing. Maybe she’s right, but all I knew was that the last thing I wanted to hear right then was someone complaining.

At that moment, it hit me how stupid I had been acting for the last hour or so. Here I was, mad at the post office for closing at 5 p.m., mad at the first Dahl’s lady for running out of mailing labels, mad at drivers for driving too slowly. And all I felt like doing was complaining.

One thing I’ve been learning lately is how much it doesn’t pay to get upset about little things that—in the long run—don’t matter. On top of that, I’ve been learning that complaining about something doesn’t do anyone any good at all. In fact, it usually just makes the situation worse by putting the person we’re complaining to in a bad mood, too.

So what if my letter doesn’t go out the day I wanted it to? I’m not going to let something as small as that ruin my day—not to mention the days of everyone I come in contact with.

Philippians 2:14-16