Did you attempt Dry January or Veganuary? Are you happy that your month of ‘giving up’ is now over? Or do you feel so much better that you intend to continue? Well whatever you decide, if you have just successfully completed one of these January challenges I heartily congratulate you.
But now what? Are you ready for another challenge for February? How about a Complaint Free February? Actually lets make it easier. Can you manage 21 consecutive complaint free days in February?
To be honest this is not my idea. The complaint free challenge was set by Will Bowen in his book A Complaint Free World which was published over 10 years ago. The above wrist band was designed at that time to help people become aware of how often they complained. Every time a complaint was made the band had to be changed to the opposite wrist with the idea being that on a complaint free day the band will stay on the same wrist all day. I now have my band on my right wrist and so far so good! Millions of people around the world have already taken up this challenge so why would you want to join me?
The Benefits of being complaint free
- You will feel happier. Our thoughts are so powerful, they can affect the way we feel. For example, suppose a friend or family member says something to upset you. When you first heard their words you felt hurt but what often happens is that we then repeat those words over and over to ourselves and to anyone who will listen. The more we complain about what they said the worse we feel. But they only said the words once!
- You will learn to take inspired actions. If the thing that you complain about is happening ever day or every time you meet a particular person you start to ask your self “How can I change this? If you get stuck in horrendous traffic every day you go to work may be you can change the route, the time that you travel or your perceptions. If you moan to your children every day about them not being ready for school on time then may be you can change your morning routine or have a consequence for their lack of actions that will motivate them to be ready on time. Having the desire to stop complaining will help you to find solutions for the things you are complaining about
- You will sleep better. This may seem like a surprising consequence but when your mind is not worrying about all those injustices you will find yourself feeling calmer and more peaceful when you reach the end of your day. When your mind is still your body can rest better.
- Your children will be happier. Many years ago when I was doing my teacher training we were told that a child needs to hear 5 positive comments for every 1 negative comment to remain confident and happy. Sadly many exchanges between parents and children are complaints about what they have or have not done. Taking up this challenge will help you to become aware of this and find a better way.
Here are the rules of the challenge
- You must not complain about anything or anyone, including yourself, for 21 consecutive days.
- Every time you find yourself complaining you go back to day one, and if you are wearing a wrist band you move it to the opposite wrist.
- If you have a genuine complaint about something it is ok to share your observation but you must share it with kind words. For example, if you are in a restaurant and the soup has been served cold, when it should be hot, you are well within your rights to say to a waiter ” Excuse me, my soup is cold, will you change it please ?” It would not however be acceptable, within this challenge, to say ” This ****** soup is cold. What are you going to do about it?”
A word of advice
If you take up this challenge….don’t give up in the early days. The challenge is helping you to reframe the way you think. This takes a lot of effort to begin with but once it becomes second nature you will love the way it changes your life for the better.
Good Luck xx
#complaintfreeworld, #complaintfreeparenting, #happyfamily, #happyhome, #bettersleep, #thefamilyangel