Given the recent circumstances of my life, I have discovered I have a penchant for a solid whinge. When I roll up my sleeves and get down to it, I can find something to complain, grouse, grumble or raise an eyebrow at in almost any circumstance. Usually, I justify this by saying that I needed to vent, or that I was just expressing my emotions. Both healthy things, right? But I’m not super fun to be around when I find fault with ease. So I got curious. Can not complaining really change your life?
Honestly, I think we’ve lost the ability to discern what is a health expression of our feelings or struggles and what is just venting, complaining or gossip. I’m hoping this challenge can help us to detox from our complaining habits and get a new understanding of when we do need to express displeasure or struggle and how to do that constructively.
So, how are we going to do that? Read on!
How the challenge works
It’s pretty simple really. For the next three weeks, I’m going to check myself whenever I start to complain. No venting, no gossip and no grumbles about weather, work or getting up early. Simple, yes. Easy? No way. I’ll share with you how I’m going, and feel free to give us an update in the comments on each article too.
Each week, starting now, I’ll provide an extra technique to help you break the habit and have a bit of fun with it. I’ll post these on each Monday in November, so keep an eye out. As a bit of a teaser, next week’s challenge involves the alphabet.
Step 1: find an accountability buddy
I find it a lot easier to stick to goals when I’ve got someone to do the challenge with. The next best thing is someone who knows I’m trying to start a new habit and can keep me honest. In this case, I’ll be using my husband and all of you. Find someone who is willing to do the challenge with you or let someone you are close to in on your goal. As we go through these next few weeks, they can help you keep on track.
Step 2: start your gratitude tracker
To help us break the pessimistic habit, we’re going to start by noting down what we’re grateful for each day. I won’t proscribe this, find a way that works for you! I love me a journal, so I’m going to add a gratitude practice to this. I’ll also keep a little track of how I did each day with the challenge. The idea is to make myself accountable and track progress, not to beat myself up if I slip up at first.
You can do this with a journal, your phone, post it notes, spreadsheets. Whatever floats your boat. Just make it easy to remember so it can become a regular habit as we progress.
Stop complaining and change your life!
Cutting all the minor complaints and finding healthier ways to express our emotions or struggles isn’t easy. But if we can do this, we’ll be well on track to have a happier and calmer outlook on life. We’ll be more pleasant to be around and more aware of all the good things we have. So lets get cracking and see where this challenge leads us!
Are you in on the no complaining challenge? Let me know in the comments.
[…] late than never, as they say. Here’s the second week of the gratitude challenge (AKA the no complaints […]
[…] been finding it useful, I know I have certainly been discovering more about myself over the last few weeks. In case you missed it, I did manage to squeak in the week two post, although it was a day late. […]