A Complaint Free World

In July, 2006, Will Bowen was inspired by the words of Maya Angelou:

‘If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change your attitude—don’t’ complain.’

He suggested that members of his church in Kansas City eradicate complaining from their lives.  To assist everyone, he came up with a purple bracelet that each person wears and switches from one wrist to the other whenever he or she finds themselves complaining. By striving to reach 21 days without complaining, each person creates a new habit. The comments came pouring in about how this changed peoples’ lives! The concept exploded and they have just issued their six millionth bracelet.

Just think about what would happen if you and the people around you had to shift your thinking every time you had the impulse to speak a complaint.  What if you spoke instead about the way you desire things to be, instead of complaining about how they are?  Do you suppose you might start noticing your negative thoughts more?  And then you would have to find a way to turn your thinking around so that it wasn’t a complaint.  How would that change your life?

Since I do weight coaching, let me give you an example.  My client, ‘Cindy’ complains that she looks crappy in her black pants.  When I help her to change that thought into something that isn’t a complaint (and feels better), she comes up with the thought, “Now that I am listening to my body’s signals and only eating when my body is hungry for fuel, I know that my pants will feel more comfortable as I keep learning”.  Another thought she came up with was to focus on aspects of her appearance that make her happy.  By shifting away from complaining, she diverted herself away from the downward spiral she used to take when she focused on what was wrong with her body.  The old thoughts only led to overeating to help her disconnect from the painful feelings associated with the painful thoughts.  You can see how this kept her stuck in a never ending cycle.  You can also see how changing your crappy thoughts is the essence of coaching!

I invite you to go to their website and order your bracelets.  Check out the stories of how people transformed their workplace or classroom.  How do you think your life would be different if you became complaint free?  Post your comments here and keep me posted as it happens!