Stop Complaining

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I am currently in a 24 hour challenge…don’t complain for 24 hours! Let’s be honest, it’s been kind of tough. I mean there were a lot of things to complain about today: the weather, waiting on people at the drive-thru, people in general, my spouse, my puppy, being hungry, slow scenes in a movie, being tired, not enough time, and the list goes on.

But the challenge isn’t even over and I’m so pumped to share what I’ve learned! There are three steps to making the most out of this 24 hour challenge and I share them below because THIS my friends, is the kind of work I LIVE for.

REFRAME

Each time I caught myself complaining about something, I took that as an opportunity to REFRAME my perspective.

Instead at looking at the situation as an inconvenience to me (the basis of most complaints right?), I looked at the situation with neutral eyes and positive eyes just to test things out. Let me tell you, it’s easy to find the negative about a situation, but man it can be tough finding the positive or even what is neutral about a situation.

Here’s an example: my dog decided to use the bathroom indoors today. That one was easy to complain about, but I needed to reframe it to be neutral and positive. So, I got curious!

“I wonder what could be wrong with her.”

“I hope she’s ok.”

“I guess it’s just one time and it’s not like it’s hard to clean.”

And here’s the kicker: “I’m so glad I have my puppy and that I’m able to cleanup after her.”

CREATE GRATITUDE

Gratitude is what it took for me to change things around. For the rest of the day I was able to grateful for being hungry, time, my spouse, people, and even the weather (#notreadyforfall).

I say create gratitude because you don’t have to look outside of you for it. Nothing has to be worthy enough to receive my gratitude because gratitude comes from within. Being able to create gratitude is a skill that is truly life-changing and is one I will always continue to work on.

What’s really amazing about this challenge is the aftermath of each reframing sesh. Once I took the time to reframe a situation and create gratitude, I then looked and thought about things differently for awhile. I say for a while because my brain definitely goes back to complaining faster than I was aware of. But hey, that’s something I am now aware of and can continue working on! Self-awareness for the win!

REMEMBER WHY

Why would I do this? Why not just keep complaining? Why make any changes at all?

Because I believe in the pursuit of growth. Life is about living and living is growing. So I will always create opportunities of growth for myself. Bottom line, complaining doesn’t actually feel good. It may seem like it does in the moment, kind of indulgent really, but it leaves an icky feeling in me that I’m not a fan of.

So why not just continue complaining? Because of how it makes me FEEL when I complain and, therefore, complaining affects how I SHOW up in the world.

Today was hard work even if only I could tell what was going on in my brain. But it’s the little, minute steps like this that can change the trajectory of your path for the long haul. When it got hard, I remembered why I was even taking the opportunity to try this challenge out. Who could I become if I stopped seeing the world as a place to complain about?

So, then, dear reader, give the 24 hour no complaining challenge a try. You’ll blow your own mind. I promise.