Day 41

Day 41: Real Time
Day 5: 21 Day Complaint Free Journey

I had the opportunity to spread the word about the 21 Day Complaint Free challenge last night at a small social gathering. One of the people there reads this blog each day.

“Is that the purple bracelet?” He pointed to my left wrist as he asked this, as if there was a snake coiled around my hand. Through reading about my struggle to become a more positive person, he now understands the challenge the bracelet represents. And it’s a huge one.

Once people know what I’m doing, they begin to mentally put themselves in the position of going any length of time at all without complaining about…..well, anything. I can see the tiny wheels turning behind their eyes.

And most eventually say things like, “Wow, I don’t think I could do it!” or “I think everyone NEEDS to complain! It makes people fix things.”

At that point, I explain that a complaint is not a statement of fact about a situation, nor is it asking the perpetrator of an injustice or other shortfall to correct it.

It becomes a complaint when we rant and rave at someone who has no capability of fixing the offending event. And probably has no interest in the fact that WE are so upset about it. We do tend to go on about the unfairness of life and the injustices heaped on our poor little heads, don’t we? And if we’re honest, we have to admit that it brings us a lot of attention.

Let’s see if I can continue to tame the snake. I’m beginning Day 5!