Smile and change it

I once read a quote on the wall of a restaurant that was something like this, "Some people grin and bear it.  Others smile and change it."

There's no reason to suffer through things unnecessarily.  Just by having the strength and the courage to act, you could make things better, for yourself and possibly for others as well.  Some people think that it would be rude to force others to change, and that it is better to "grin and bear" things.  But that's not necessarily true.  Surely society has been improved because people chose to fight for change rather than bear wrongs and injustices.

What's written above would probably make you think that I support the "smile and change" philosophy over "grinning and bearing it."  But, that's not exactly true.  Actually, in this case, that's hardly true at all.

I was one of those people who often thought it was rude to force others to change.  Still, it depends on the situation.  When you can make a change that will benefit other people, maybe that change is worth making.  But in many cases, whatever it is that you seek to smile and change may not end up benefitting anyone else.  In this case, why do anything?  Well of course it depends on how you think about the situation.  Making a change won't negatively affect anyone, or will it?  This change won't benefit anyone else, or maybe it will.   I knew the side I usually leaned toward, the way I would usually answer.  But, being neither a mind reader nor a fortune teller, I always accepted the fact that I could be wrong.  It wasn't that I disagreed with either side.  It wasn't that I blindly supported either side.  I just generally leaned toward the grin and bear it side more often than it seemed most people did.  But what else would you expect from someone who considered that a part of "being strong"?