Day 116 of 365 - Complaint Free Day?
Complain: to say something that expresses annoyance or unhappiness.
A newsletter I get recently challenged its readers to try a complaint free day. It was an interesting article and an idea I decided to save as a topic for my own blog. I chose to write about it today because Monday seems to be a day of the week that a lot of people complain about, especially if they are returning to work for the start of their week.
As I've gone through my morning so far, I've been challenging myself on this topic too. It's a really interesting self-observation to make. If you try it for yourself, you may be surprised at how many complaining thoughts you have, even if you do not express them aloud.
How often do you find as well, that as soon as people are gathered together in a group, someone complains about something? Just one person starting can get the ball rolling for a litany of complaints. We might not mind hearing or making the occasional spoken complaint, but really, who likes to be around someone who seems to complain more than anything else?
Of course, there are lots of things which legitimately challenge us as we go about our day. Facts are facts. But, complaining seems to imply that it is someone else's responsibility to resolve the situation or to make us feel better in some way.
Perhaps we could try shifting our perspective to the challenge or opportunity of a situation, rather than complaining about it. This turns it more into a troubleshooting or problem solving matter for which we assume at least some of the responsibility. Others can still be engaged to help us resolve it rather than us fully expecting someone else to do it.
A little example for me this morning follows. I drove a friend to the airport in her car but forgot to ask her for the garage door opener for our apartment garage. We are expecting a big snow storm today and I did not want to leave the car outside all day until my husband got home with our door opener. I could have complained to whoever would listen about having to go back out in the cold, cleaning snow or ice off the car etc. Instead, I enlisted the help of my apartment neighbors, who happened to be on their way out anyway. Together, we solved the problem, and the focus was on that.
Another good reason to track your own complaining thoughts is that, it is a way to notice how often you are in a critical or negative state of mind, even if you are mainly listening to your own inner critic. This does have an impact on our mood and can influence how we relate to others as well.
So, I challenge you, and I'll keep challenging myself the rest of today, and hopefully beyond, to notice your complaints. Then, try to reframe them as challenges or opportunities to act upon. It's an interesting experiment which could improve our emotional and mental health and vitality.
A newsletter I get recently challenged its readers to try a complaint free day. It was an interesting article and an idea I decided to save as a topic for my own blog. I chose to write about it today because Monday seems to be a day of the week that a lot of people complain about, especially if they are returning to work for the start of their week.
As I've gone through my morning so far, I've been challenging myself on this topic too. It's a really interesting self-observation to make. If you try it for yourself, you may be surprised at how many complaining thoughts you have, even if you do not express them aloud.
How often do you find as well, that as soon as people are gathered together in a group, someone complains about something? Just one person starting can get the ball rolling for a litany of complaints. We might not mind hearing or making the occasional spoken complaint, but really, who likes to be around someone who seems to complain more than anything else?
Of course, there are lots of things which legitimately challenge us as we go about our day. Facts are facts. But, complaining seems to imply that it is someone else's responsibility to resolve the situation or to make us feel better in some way.
Perhaps we could try shifting our perspective to the challenge or opportunity of a situation, rather than complaining about it. This turns it more into a troubleshooting or problem solving matter for which we assume at least some of the responsibility. Others can still be engaged to help us resolve it rather than us fully expecting someone else to do it.
A little example for me this morning follows. I drove a friend to the airport in her car but forgot to ask her for the garage door opener for our apartment garage. We are expecting a big snow storm today and I did not want to leave the car outside all day until my husband got home with our door opener. I could have complained to whoever would listen about having to go back out in the cold, cleaning snow or ice off the car etc. Instead, I enlisted the help of my apartment neighbors, who happened to be on their way out anyway. Together, we solved the problem, and the focus was on that.
Another good reason to track your own complaining thoughts is that, it is a way to notice how often you are in a critical or negative state of mind, even if you are mainly listening to your own inner critic. This does have an impact on our mood and can influence how we relate to others as well.
So, I challenge you, and I'll keep challenging myself the rest of today, and hopefully beyond, to notice your complaints. Then, try to reframe them as challenges or opportunities to act upon. It's an interesting experiment which could improve our emotional and mental health and vitality.
I certainly felt bad for forgetting to give you the opener! My second flight was very late -- we waited on the tarmac for two hours and nearly had the flight canceled. No one complained because the weather was bad and we knew we needed to be safe. So glad to be at my destination reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping you would be flying soon enough to avoid the storm. Glad your second flight was able to go and that you arrived safely!
Deleteyes a very good mindful exercise !
ReplyDelete