Have you ever noticed how much you complain on a daily basis? I didn’t until I started reading A Complaint Free World and decided to take the challenge to avoid complaining for 21 days. By the beginning of the first day, I already had to start over! Luckily it was only spoken complaints because I fear that the mental complaining I’ve been doing lately would really trip me up!
Why in the world do we complain? What do we get out of it? I bet most of us do it out of habit, or we’re more likely to do it when we’re around others who do it. I’ve found myself in many complaining conversations lately thanks to the bad state of the world. Politics, war, religion, traffic, taxes, bad TV,…there’s a ton to complain about!
Well, consider some of these reasons for complaining:
–We complain to get sympathy, attention, and to avoid stepping up to something we’re afraid of doing.
–We also complain because we don’t feel we deserve what we want.
–Insecurity. By complaining about others, we’re making ourselves look good.
–We get sucked into someone else’s complaining.
Pathetic, huh? Complaining is dangerous because not only is it contagious to others, but it can create a never-ending mindless habit too. And complaining doesn’t look good on anyone. But the worst thing about complaining is that it takes our attention off of the amazing things in life. The beauty of our surroundings. The amazing stories of inspiration that people can convey, if only we were interested. The coincidences and opportunities that are all around us all the time. There really is a lot to be grateful for in our lives. But we spend much of our time complaining incessantly, mostly about things that we can’t change!
Wouldn’t it be great to go an entire day without hearing anybody else’s complaints? To be able to go through the day and notice the people who are smiling, the people who are letting the other cars merge in front of them, the cute dogs in the park, the happy stories on the news? Let’s try to do our part by being more mindful of what comes out of our own mouths.
A great tip Will Bowen shares in the book is to change the words you use.
Instead of… Try….
Problem Opportunity
Have to Get to
Setback Challenge
Enemy Friend
Tormentor Teacher
Pain Signal
I demand I would appreciate
Complaint Request
Struggle Journey
You did this I created this
I’m going to continue the challenge and persist with 21 complaint-free days, no matter how many times I have to start over. I must say that once you’re aware of it, it gets easier. Care to join me?
