The stop complaining challenge. Do you think you can do it?
"I'm cold."
"I'm hungry."
"I'm tired."
"Why is the line so long?"
If you tell me you never complain, you- my good sir, are a liar. We all do it. Most of the times about circumstances that we are not able to change. Think about it...You're in a grocery store, you've selected a few delicious items, and now- the inevitable...you have to wait in the line to pay. Is complaining about the line being long magically going to reduce it and fast forward space and time as we know it? Nope. It won't.
Trust me, I've tried it- but we humans do not hold such high and mighty powers.
We are creating an incredibly negative environment for ourselves without even realizing it. Even our language usage has shaped an incredibly negative world view. Think about it. Think about that time you were hiking through the garden route and the sun has just began to set.
Oh my goodness- it's getting cold and my feet hurt so much. Ah man, I'm so tired.
Now compare this to:
Shit, what a beautiful sunset. This hike has been absolutely incredible.
Do you notice that these two sentences can be equally applied to the above mentioned situation? Except- in statement number you, you are: complaining about the cold (can't change it), complaining about your feet (can't change it) and complaining that you're tired (guess what- still can't change it). In statement two you are mindful about your surroundings, you are grateful, and you are humble.
So, I have a challenge for you: I challenge you to STOP COMPLAINING for 21 days. As soon as you complain, you need to start over from day 1- so this challenge is a lot more challenging than you'd think, since the average person complains 15-30 times a day. I'll do the challenge with you. No complaining for 3 weeks. Not about the traffic, or the long grocery lines, or the fact that it's cold.
Turn up the music in the car, have a chat to the person standing next to you and throw on an extra jacket, because nobody likes a negative Nancy.