A Challenge For You – Stop Complaining For One Month

Have you heard of Dry July? The idea is to give up alcohol for one month. Well, I have a challenge for you. No complaining month! Complaining is essentially a form of negative thinking. We are focussing on what is wrong rather than what is right.

Negative thinking or complaining kills our enthusiasm and motivation. It stops us from getting out and enjoying life. Instead, we have no joy for the world or our life. People retreat from us because we are kill-joys. Some people don’t even realise that they have become constant complainers. Nothing is quite right, not the weather, not the food and especially not other people. They are forever griping about something and their defeatism is toxic.

How often do you complain? Often, rarely, never or too much? How about committing yourself to a whole month of no complaining? I promise that you will feel better after a month. You will feel more optimistic and positive about life, and believe more in yourself.

Preparation ahead of giving up complaining

Before embarking on your month of no complaints you will need to do some homework. First, define what a complaint is. “Gee, it’s hot today” is not a complaint. It is an observation about the weather, but “Gosh I’m so hot and sweaty, I’m over this heat,” is a complaint because you are basically saying that you dislike the weather and you are allowing the weather to have a negative effect on you.

Why not try to tally up how often you do complain? You could get an unpleasant surprise. Ask friends and family to honestly tell you if you are a big whinger. I would also suggest you don’t spend too much time in the company of other whingers. Let’s face it, if you surround yourself with whingers you are going to start complaining about the world together. You will find an endless list of subjects to complain about. How do interactions like that make you feel? Drained, a bit flat? Now, imagine spending a day with a friend who makes you laugh. How do you feel when you come away from that interaction? Energised and happy I hope.

Set a penalty for complaints

Alright, now you have done your homework and it’s time to embark on your month of no complaints. Before that month officially starts, you are going to have to set yourself a penalty for every complaint. How about giving $5 or $10 to a charity every time a complaint leaves your mouth?

Focus on finding solutions

Okay, now your month of no-complaints has begun I have some further tips on how to stay on the no-complaining straight and narrow. Every time you are about to complain, instead think of a solution to the problem. For example, your close friend is late again, instead of whingeing to your spouse that she is never on time, consider picking her up from home and taking her to the cinema or restaurant where you were planning on meeting.

Look for the positives

Another way to stamp out complaining is to add a “but”. The classic of course, is “Oh, it’s raining and I can’t go for a walk, but if there was no rain the flowers wouldn’t grow”. Use this technique in life. Instead of complaining about the people at work, add the “but” and be grateful that you have a job, eg “There are some difficult people at work but I’m just glad to have a full-time job when so many people are unemployed”.

In sentences that hint at resentment exchange “have to” with “get to”. Instead of “I have to visit my ageing parents” swap to “I get to viit my ageing parents, I’m blessed that they are still alive”. Not I have to “put out the garbage” but “I get to put out the garbage”. Thank goodness Australia is a first world country with a waste-collection service, not a developing country where people live amidst rubbish.

Become less judgmental

Too often we complain about other people because they do not meet our expectations. Instead we should try to accept that everyone is different. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You don’t know what has happened to people in the course of their lives – what their families were like, what sort of disappointments they have endured. Be slow to judge and quick to love!

Be grateful

Don’t live your life complaining that the glass is half empty, instead live your life celebrating that the glass is half full. Write a list of everything you have to be grateful for and read it every day. Remember you have your health and friends and family. Remember to focus on what makes you happy. Start dancing lessons, learn to sing, join a book club, pursue happiness and quit griping. And take good care of yourself. Eat well and exercise and remember that life is good. It is a simple choice, would you rather complain or be happy?

Give up complaining for a whole month and you will feel better for it! You might decide to quit complaining for life…