Day 100

Day 100: Real Time
Day 9: 21 Day Complaint Free Journey


It feels like a milestone, although I haven’t decided how to frame it yet. 100 days attempting to accomplish 21 consecutive complaint-free days. Is that a good thing……or not?

My longest string of days was 17, but I have started over from 1 MANY times, too.

My tendency in all areas of life is to find meaning, some idea of what exactly I’m doing here. Here being not only on this planet but also within whatever is going on in my world at the moment. I’m still working on the existential “Why am I here?” question with no end in sight, so let’s leave that for my early morning meditations and talk here about this journey to be free of complaining.

Within those 100 days have been thousands of complaints never spoken. That’s got to be a good thing, don’t you think? The people around me never had to hear me spout off on problems they had no part in creating, and they certainly couldn’t fix most of them for me, either.

As I make this journey, I have many friends and coworkers who think it’s healthy to complain, that such “sharing” relieves stress and sometimes even causes good things to happen. I used to say those things, too. But, if honesty prevails, those are rationalizations that mean “I’m angry (or frustrated or otherwise uncomfortable) and I can’t control myself. So, I’m going to let it all out so I can be free of my emotions. I don’t really care how it affects you as the receiver of my gift.”

Harsh? Maybe. But I think it’s true, when we remember that complaining IS allowed when we complain to the person who has the ability to fix our problem and we refrain from making it a personal attack. Under those circumstances, we have the obligation to speak up for not only ourselves, but those who have no voice, like children and animals.

So, here’s to my 100 days! Even though I haven’t had a successful 21 days, I believe I’m happier and I imagine those around me are breathing a little easier when they see me coming.

How are the people in your corner of the world feeling when you walk through the door?

Day 9